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GENEVIEVE    WARD 


FROM  ORIGINAL  MATERIAL  DERIVED  FROM  HER  FAMILY 
AND  FRIENDS 


BY 


ZADEL  BARNES  GUSTAFSON 


WITH    PORTRAIT 


BOSTON 
JAMES   R.  OSGOOD   AND   COMPANY 

1882 


COPYRIGHT,  1881, 
Bv  JAMES  R.  OSGOOD  AND  COMPANY. 


All  rifkts  rettrvtd. 


/rtnklfn  $rr*s: 

JtASD,   AVKRV,   AND  COMPANY, 
BOSTON. 


GENEVIEVE. 
(A  SONG.) 

HAIL  to  thee,  and  farewell, 

Beautiful  Genevieve ! 
Oh,  kind  for  thee  be  wind  and  wave, 
Thou  daughter  of  the  Free  and  Brave ! 
Godspeed  of  English  heart  and  hand 
Goes  with  thee  to  thy  native  land. 

Farewell, 

Beautiful  Genevieve! 

Hail  to  thee,  and  farewell ! 

Speeding  so  fast  away. 
Let  not  Columbia,  eager  now 
To  bind  her  laurels  on  thy  brow, 
Make  thee  forget  that  English  hearts 
First  crowned  and  throned  thee  Queen  of  Arts 

And  Hearts, 

Beautiful  Genevieve ! 

All  hail,  and  welcome  home  ! 

Over  dividing  seas 
Returning,  when  the  snows  are  past, 
Queen  Flower  with  flowers  and  spring  at  last. 
Not  more  victorious  than  true, 
Artist  and  woman  crowned  in  you ! 

Welcome, 

Beautiful  Genevieve ! 


Words  by  Mrs.  Z.  B.  GUSTAFSON.  The  music,  by  the  favorite 
English  balladist  Miss  ELIZABETH  PHILP,  is  given  on  the  following 
pages. 


GENEYIEYE. 


Words  by  ZADEL  B.  GUSTAFSON.  Music  by  E.  PHILP. 

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GENEVIEVE — A   SONG. 


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VI 


CENEVIEVE  —  A   SONG. 


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Viii  CENEVIEVE  —  A   SONG. 


PREFACE. 


IF  a  book  interests  me,  I  always  feel  I  would  like  to 
know  how  it  came  to  be  written ;  and,  on  the  sup- 
position that  this  is  a  common  feeling,  have  prepared 
the  following  little  preface  for  those  who  may  find  this 
book  interesting. 

During  a  visit  to  the  city  of  Providence,  R.I.,  in  the 
autumn  of  1878,  I  was  present  at  one  of  the  sessions 
of  a  women's  club,  then  presided  over  by  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth Churchill,  —  a  truly  noble  woman,  who  has  since 
"ceased  from  her  labors,"  leaving  in  many  grateful 
hearts  a  memory  sweet  with  the  eternal  fragrance  of 
good  deeds.  As  we  were  talking  together  at  the  close 
of  the  meeting,  she  said  earnestly,  — 

"  There  is  one  very  kind  thing  you  can  do  for  me 
if  you  will.  You  can  help  my  friend  Genevieve  Ward, 
who  has  recently  arrived  in  this  country.  She  is  an 
actress  of  great  talent  and  admirable  training,  who  has 
had  an  unjustly  long  and  hard  struggle  for  the  recog- 

ix 


X  PREFACE. 

nition  which  was  her  due  from  the  start.  By  dint  of 
genius,  invincible  courage,  and  devoted  study,  she  has 
at  last  won  grand  dramatic  triumphs  in  England  and 
France ;  but  this  is  not  enough.  She  is  an  American, 
and  she  wants  to  be  appreciated  in  her  native  land. 
She  has  ardent  personal  friends  here ;  but  the  large 
appreciation  of  the  American  public,  which  such  an 
artist  needs  and  superlatively  deserves,  is  slow  in  com- 
ing to  her." 

"What  would  you  like  to  have  me  do? "  I  asked. 

"  I  wish  you  would  call  on  her,  and  hear  her  play 
when  she  comes  to  Boston  in  the  spring ;  and,  if  the 
impression  she  makes  on  you  justifies  what  I  have  said, 
I  wish  you  would  write  an  article  about  her,  —  not  a  bit 
of  newspaper  gossip,  she  receives  enough  of  those,  but 
a  careful,  critical,  and  appreciative  paper,  —  and  get  it 
published  in  an  influential  quarter.  Such  a  paper 
would  not  only  do  her  a  great  deal  of  good,  but  be 
a  favor  to  the  fairer-minded  portion  of  the  public,  who 
only  need  to  have  their  attention  called  to  a  palpable 
injustice,  to  rectify  it." 

In  the  spring  of  1879,  when  Miss  Ward  came  to 
Boston,  I  called  on  her,  and  saw  her  play.  Person- 
ally, she  impressed  me  as  a  lady  of  pure  character  and 
charming  presence ;  as  an  artist,  she  moved  me,  both 
to  admiration  and  emotion,  more  than  any  woman  I 


PREFACE.  XI 

had  ever  seen  on  the  stage,  not  even  excepting  Miss 
Cushman.  The  few  biographical  notes  taken  very 
hastily  viva  voce  during  her  short  stay  in  Boston  con- 
vinced me,  on  examination,  that  her  story  was  matter 
for  a  book,  rather  than  an  article. 

Before  communicating  this  second  thought  to  any 
one,  what  was  my  astonishment  to  read  in  the  literary 
announcements  of  "The  Boston  Saturday  Gazette," 
that  I  was  writing  a  book  on  Miss  Genevieve  Ward  ! 
As  "The  Gazette"  was  never  known  to  make  a  mis- 
take, I  was  determined  not  to  be  the  first  to  convict 
it  of  human  frailty.  I  wrote  to  Miss  Ward  in  London 
for  more  materials,  not  then  divulging  my 'book  plan, 
being  uncertain  that  a  publisher  would  undertake  it  — 
they  don't  always  take  a  good  thing  ! 

Miss  Ward  wrote  back  in  July,  1879  :  — 

"  I  have  not  had  a  moment  to  call  my  own.  We  have  moved 
from  Paris  to  London,  and  furnished  our  new  home.  I  have 
taken  the  Lyceum  for  the  period  of  Mr.  Irving's  absence,  to 
produce  my  new  play  '  Zillah,'  by  Palgrave  Simpson,  formed  a 
company,  commenced  rehearsals,  and  generally  started  every 
thing.  I  open  the  2d  of  August,  and  up  to  that  time  can't  pos- 
sibly sit  down  quietly  to  give  you  all  the  details  I  must  gather 
together.  Mother  is  delighted  with  your  message,  and  will  take 
great  pleasure  in  doing  all  in  her  power." 

Miss  Ward  had  expected  to  return  to  the  United 


xii  PREFACE. 

States  in  the  fall  of  1879;  but  this  plan  had  been 
given  up.  Meantime  I  had  proposed  the  book  to 
Mr.  J.  R.  Osgood,  and  he  had  accepted  it. 

I  wrote  her  that  my  project  had  expanded  from  an 
article  to  a  book,  and  asked  for  the  amplest  materials 
at  her  command. 

In  March,  1880,  she  replied  from  Edinburgh, — 

"  You  are  a  worker  yourself,  and  know  how  one  work  often 
crowds  out  another:  I  therefore  feel  certain  that  you  do  not 
attribute  my  silence  to  neglect,  or  want  of  appreciation  for  your 
kind  and  noble  labors  in  my  behalf;  but,  as  I  was  not  to  return 
home  this  year,  I  thought  you  would  postpone  the  publication 
of  your  work  on  G.  W.  until  my  return  to  America  should  be 
decided,  when  it  would  have  an  additional  interest  I  find  I 
have  not  brought  with  me  to  Edinburgh  all  the  material  I  sup- 
posed, but  I  send  you  what  I  have  on  hand.  .  .  .  '  Ziliah '  was 
such  a  failure,  I  withdrew  it  after  four  nights,  putting  in  its 
place  Victor  Hugo's  '  Lucrezia  Borgia '  as  arranged  for  me  by 
Mr.  William  Young.  This  was  only  until  I  had  prepared  an- 
other play  which  I  had  not  yet  secured.  I  also  did  '  Meg  Mer- 
rilies.'  I  spent  my  days  reading  plays,  and  at  last  concluded 
on  trying  '  Forget  Me  Not,'  a  play  which  had  been  for  seven 
years  on  the  author's  hands,  being  refused  by  all  the  leading 
actresses  of  England.  I  produced  it  with  only  a  week  to  study 
and  rehearse  it,  and  playing  '  Lucrezia  '  every  night 

"  I  never  played  a  part  on  such  short  notice,  and  had  no  time 
to  analyze  it.  It  was  entirely  an  inspiration.  The  play  made 
a  hit ;  but  we  could  not  test  its  drawing  capacities,  for  I  could 
only  have  the  theatre  two  weeks.  I  then  took  it  to  the  prov- 


PREFACE.  xiii 

inces  on  a  very  successful  tour,  and  opened  the  Prince  of  Wales 
Theatre,  under  Mr.  Bruce's  management,  with  it  on  the  22d  of 
February,  just  six  months  from  its  first  production.  The  first 
two  weeks  it  was  uncertain  whether  it  would  draw,  notwith- 
standing the  encomiums  of  the  press :  then  it  took  a  start,  and 
the  houses  have  been  crammed ;  many  times,  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen in  full  dress  being  obliged  to  go  up  into  the  amphi- 
theatre, and  they  did  so  rather  than  not  see  it.  The  best  test, 
however,  is  that  the  same  people  come  over  and  over  again, 
and  like  it  better  each  time. 

"  The  Prince  of  Wales  came  twice  in  two  weeks ;  and  as  he 
is  considered  the  best  judge  of  the  drama  in  England,  and  says 
there  is  no  acting  like  mine  off  the  French  stage,  I  have  become 
the  '  rage.'  They  are  very  generous  here ;  my  being  an  Ameri- 
can is  no  drawback.  In  fact,  when  the  Prince  of  Wales  asked 
me  if  I  was  not  French,  and  I  told  him  I  was  an  American,  he 
replied,  '  I  have  always  thought  the  American  ladies  the  clever- 
est in  the  world,'  —  a  pretty  compliment  to  American  women. 
I  herewith  send  a  few  items  jotted  down  by  mother.  I  have 
perfect  faith  in  you,  womanarily  and  literarily,  as  I  prove.  As 
all  the  biographical  sketches  of  me  hitherto  published  have  been 
a  great  mixture  of  truth  and  error,  I  will  see  that  yours  is  well 
circulated  as  authentic.  I  never  wrote  so  much  about  myself 
before,  and  never  shall  again  ;  for  I  will  always  refer  my  friends 
in  future  to  your  complete  and  comprehensive  work." 

The  "few  items  jotted  down  by  mother"  showed 
me  that  Mrs.  Ward's  memory  was  my  mine  :  therefore 
I  deferred  writing  the  present  biography  until  this 
summer  of  1881,  when,  during  the  latter  part  of  June 


Xiv  PREFACE. 

and  early  in  July,  we  were  all  in  London  together,  and 
I  received  from  the  Wards  the  necessary  materials, 
abundant  and  rich,  but  in  an  unavoidably  chaotic  state, 
which  I  have  taken  conscientious  pains  to  reduce  to 
accuracy  and  symmetry ;  and,  whatever  other  defects 
may  be  found,  I  believe  that  no  error  of  import  to  fact 
or  feeling  will  be  discovered. 

It  goes  without  saying,  that  perspective  and  certain 
other  qualities  and  elements  characteristic  of  posthu- 
mous biography  —  obviously  much  the  easiest  to  write 
—  are  not,  and  ought  not  to  be,  apparent  in  the  present 
work.  Mrs.  Ward  furnished  me,  as  I  had  foreseen 
she  would,  some  of  the  most  interesting  details  from 
a  well-trained  and  well-stored  memory.  From  the 
masses  of  letters  addressed  by  eminent  men  and 
women  of  many  lands  to  Miss  Ward,  to  which  I  have 
had  access,  I  have  been  guided  in  my  selection  less 
by  the  distinguished  position  of  the  writers,  than  by 
the  capacity  to  add  by  illustration  or  elucidation  to 
the  value  of  the  subject  matter.  It  has  not  been  pos- 
sible to  insert  more  than  a  small  proportion  of  letters, 
nearly  all  of  which  would  interest  the  general  reader, 
and  which  form  a  correspondence,  as  to  source  and 
character,  of  which  any  one  might  be  proud  to  have 
been  the  recipient. 

If  this  book  inspires  any  talent  with  the  patience 


PREFACE.  XV 

and  courage  of  the  profound  discipline  Art  exacts  of 
every  votary  whom  she  crowns,  and  if  it  pleases  its 
gifted  subject  and  her  friends,  —  a  term  which  must 
ultimately  apply  to  all  lovers  of  pure  art  splendidly 
exemplified,  —  I  shall  be  well  recompensed  for  a  diffi- 
cult task. 

ZADEL  BARNES   GUSTAFSON. 

LONDON,  Aug.  27,  iSSi. 


1  DEAR  MADAME  GUSTAFSON,  —  It  is  with  the  greatest  pleas- 
ure that  I  hear  you  intend  writing  the  biography  of  my  friend 
Miss  Ward.  Such  a  work  cannot  fail  to  greatly  interest  the 
general  public  and  especially  all  lovers  of  art. 

Nature  has  endowed  Miss  Ward  with  precious  gifts  for  the 
stage.  She  interested  me  from  the  first  moment  of  our  ac- 
quaintance ;  and  I  was  glad  to  have  the  pleasure  of  evincing 
my  sympathy  by  taking  part,  together  with  my  illustrious  friend 
FrezzoJini,  in  a  concert  given  by  Miss  Ward  in  a  salon  of  the 
Hotel  de  Louvre  in  Paris. 

She  was  then  a  lyric  artist:  and,  though  possessing  much 
merit,  my  impression  was,  that  she  excelled  rather  in  dramatic 
power ;  and  when  in  London,  in  1873,  sne  informed  me  of  her 
intention  to  devote  herself  to  dramatic  art,  I  encouraged  her  in 
every  way  in  my  power,  aiding  her  with  my  advice  and  in- 
struction. 

In  December  of  the  same  year,  when  I  met  her  again  in 
Manchester,  on  hearing  her  declaim  selections  from  different 
tragedies,  I  was  convinced  that  I  had  not  been  mistaken  in 
thinking  a  brilliant  career  awaited  her  on  the  English  stage ; 
and,  although  I  have  never  had  the  pleasure  of  assisting  at  one 
of  her  representations,  the  success  she  has  since  obtained  in 
England,  France,  and  America,  and  the  unanimous  applause 
accorded  her  by  the  press,  have  proved  to  me  that  my  pre- 
visions have  been  fully  realized.  She  has  met  the  just  reward 
for  her  persevering  devotion  to  her  profession.  Hoping  that 
I  may  soon  have  the  pleasure  of  reading  your  work,  believe  me, 
dear  madame, 

Yours  very  truly, 

ADELAIDE  RISTORI  (DEL  GRILLO). 

ST.  MORITZ-BAD,  Aug.  28,  1881. 
HoF-Sx.  MORITZ. 

1  This  letter  is  given  just  as  it  was  written  in  English  by  Madame  Ristori. 


"  I  CAN  conceive  of  few  things  more  stimulating  to  a  woman,  than 

a  gifted  mother." 

ELIZABETH  STUART  PHELPS. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

(COUNTESS    DE    GUERBEL.) 


I. 

AMONG  the  "seven  hundred  and  ten  distin- 
guished persons,  each  bearing  but  one  name, 
who  accompanied  William  the  Conqueror  from  Nor- 
mandy to  the  conquest  of  England  in  1066,"  was  Baron 
Leigh;  and  in  the  still-preserved  record  of  their 
names  is  mentioned  that  of  "  Ward,  one  of  the  noble 
captains,  this  being  the  earliest  date  in  which  the  name 
is  found  in  English  history." 

From  that  period  to  the  present,  the  Wards  and 
Leighs  have  intermarried. 

John  Leigh  came  with  his  brother  to  America  from 
Bruton  Street,  London,  in  1634. 

Gov.  Morton's  memorial,  in  recording  the  arrivals 
from  the  Old  Country,  speaks  of  these  Leigh  brothers 
as  the  younger  sons  of  the  Earl  of  Marlborough.  The 
king  had  portioned  them  off  with  grants  of  land.  The 
son  of  John  Leigh  was  sent  back  in  due  course  of 
time  to  England,  to  be  educated,  and  entered  Queen 
Anne's  navy.  The  descendants  of  the  Bruton-street 

3 


4  GENEVIEVE    WAKD. 

Leighs  settled  on  the  eastern  shores  of  Maryland,  and 
agreed  with  the  Goodenoughs  and  the  Woodhouses  — 
being  all  stanch  republicans  —  to  change  their  names 
respectively  to  those  of  Lee,  VVoodis,  and  Goodenow ; 
names  now  so  widely  and  favorably  known  in  the 
United  States,  synonymes  of  enterprise,  prosperity,  and 
clean  repute.  The  royalist  branch  of  the  Leigh  family 
remained  good  Tories,  retained  the  original  spelling  of 
their  name,  and  moved  to  Nova  Scotia. 

One  of  the  family,  a  wealthy  bachelor  named 
Horatio  Nelson  Ward,  went  to  Europe  about  thirty 
years  ago,  and  spent  about  fifteen  years,  and  from  ten 
to  twelve  thousand  pounds,  in  seeking  out  the  gene- 
alogy of  his  family.  He  succeeded  in  tracing  them 
back  to  the  year  700,  in  Denmark,  where  the  name 
is  still  found  spelled  Wart,  and  meaning,  both  in  Dan- 
ish and  in  German,  as  in  English, — to  guard. 

Both  the  Wards  and  the  Leighs  have  been  people 
of  most  honorable  repute,  long-lived,  and  a  notable 
proportion  of  them  have  from  generation  to  generation 
filled  acceptably  positions  of  responsibility  and  public 
trust.  Besides  the  long  list  of  families  whose  names 
and  records  are  matters  of  both  English  and  American 
pride,  with  whom  the  Wards  have  from  time  to  time 
intermarried,  they  have  continued,  as  already  stated,  to 
intermarry  with  the  Lees  in  both  countries,  and  the 
same  names  have  been  handed  down  in  the  families ; 
William  having  been  usually  the  name  of  the  head  of 
the  family  of  Ward,  and  John  the  name  of  the  head 
of  the  Lee  family. 

Only  those  who  have  seen  the  volume  entitled  "  The 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  5 

Ward  Family,"  '  issued  in  1851,  by  Andrew  Henshavv 
Ward,  A.M.,  member  of  the  New-England  Historic- 
Genealogical  Society,  know  what  an  interesting  and 
proud  family-tree  it  reveals,  with  branches  bearing 
many  of  the  best-known  and  best-loved  English  and 
American  names. 

Mrs.  Lucy  Leigh  Ward,2  daughter  of  Gideon  Lee, 
formerly  mayor  of  New- York  City,  widow  of  the  late 
Col.  Samuel  Ward,  and  mother  of  the  beautiful  and 
gifted  tragedienne  who  is  the  subject  of  the  present 
biography,  is  the  most  remarkable  living  member  of 
this  family,  and  one  of  the  most  remarkable  represen- 
tative women  of  modern  times. 

"  I  am  accused  of  being  very  proud  of  my  old 
family,"  she  said  to  me,  one  day  of  this  present  sum- 
mer of  1 88 1  ;  "and  Judge  Wayne  once  reminded  me 
that  I  was  the  ninth  generation  of  the  Lees  born  in 
the  State  of  Massachusetts,  and  that  in  Austria  ten 
generations  make  a  noble.  But  it  isn't  nobilities, 
titles,  lordships,  patrimonies,  coats-of-arms,  and  blue 
blood,  that  I  care  for ;  but  when  you  can  trace  a  family 
back  for  hundreds  of  years,  and  find  them,  from  gen- 
eration to  generation,  men  and  women  of  splendid 
bodies  and  magnificent  souls,  as  the  Wards  and  Lees 
are  to  this  day,  I  take  it  as  good  proof  they  have  lived 
after  God's  own  plan ;  and  I  am  proud  of  that  sort  of 
nobility ;  and  I  think,  too,  that  the  family  names  of 
such  people  ought  to  be  spared  from  public  burlesque. 
When  Mr.  Browne  was  here  in  London,  a  letter  ap- 

1  Published  by  Samuel  G.  Drake.     See  Appendix, 

2  Ever  since  ascertaining  that  Leigh  was  the  original  spelling  of  her  maiden 
name,  Mrs.  Ward  has  adopted  that  form. 


CENEVIEVE    WAKD. 

in  'The  Times,'  asking  for  the  correct  pro- 
nunciation of  Artemas.  I  replied  in  the  same  journal 
that  I  was  probably  the  best  authority  on  the  subject, 
as  there  had  been  several  Artemas  Wards  in  my  family, 
and  we  gave  the  accent  to  the  first  syllable.  I  took 
care  to  add  that  I  regretted  extremely  that  Mr.  Browne 
should  have  chosen  the  time-honored  name  of  Major- 
Gen.  Artemas  Ward  of  the  Revolution  as  a  subject  for 
derision  and  laughter.  Mr.  Browne  called  on  me  im- 
mediately, and  in  a  very  gentlemanly  manner  expressed 
his  great  surprise  at  the  fact  I  had  mentioned,  and  his 
regret  that  in  ignorance  of  it  he  should  have  wounded 
family  feeling,  and  begged  leave  to  incorporate  the  fact 
in  his  then  forthcoming  book." 

Mrs.  Ward's  mother,  who  died  when  Lucy  was  a 
baby,  was  Laura  Buffington,  who  lived  in  Worthing- 
ton,  Mass.,  and  who  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  old 
Jonathan  Edwards  of  Northampton,  Mass.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  keenness,  strength,  and  sterling 
moral  quality  marked  the  "  long-favored "  and  un- 
beautiful  Edwards  face.  One  day,  when  Mrs.  Ward 
was  little  Lucy  Lee,  one  of  the  Edwards  family  came 
to  her  father's  on  a  visit.  Noticing  the  little  girl, 
caught  probably  in  the  first  instance  by  the  twinkling 
glances  of  the  direct  and  penetrating  eyes,  —  eyes  that 
care,  experience,  and  age  are  powerless  to  dim,  —  he 
asked,  — 

"  Whose  child  is  this  ?  "  and,  laying  his  hand  on  her 
head,  he  upturned  her  face  for  the  sort  of  scrutiny  to 
which  the  shyest  and  most  individual  souls  of  chil- 
dren are  always  being  unwarrantably  subjected.  She 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  / 

gave  him  look  for  look,  and  never  forgot  the  pathetic 
fellowship  that  came  into  his  face  as  he  released  her, 
and  said,  "  That's  an  Edwards  child  !  " 

She  was  a  prodigy  from  her  birth ;  interpreting  life 
from  the  first  with  an  originality,  and  understanding  it 
with  a  passion,,  that  belong  neither  to  childhood  nor 
age,  but  to  genius.  Her  instinct  for  shams  and  shal- 
lownesses  drew  blood,  like  Ithuriel's  spear,  wherever  the 
lie  lay  hid.  And,  though  this  faculty  has  kept  the 
circle  of  intimate  friendship  thin  enough  for  the  freest 
and  happiest  grouping  of  the  few  who  have  truly 
known  her,  it  has  not  withheld  her  from  entertaining 
and  re-invigorating  the  social  circles  of  many  lands, 
which  her  own  gifts,  and  her  daughter's  beauty,  tal- 
ents, and  unique  career,  have  gathered  around  them. 

Major  Buffington,  a  descendant  of  Lady  Buffington, 
and  the  grandfather,  on  the  mother's  side,  of  Mrs. 
Ward,  was  one  of  the  historic  figures  of  her  earliest 
memories.  Lady  Buffington  used  laughingly  to  call 
George  Washington  a  "great  rascal,"  relating  a  little 
incident  somewhat  subversive  of  the  popular  tradition 
of  the  little  hatchet. 

The  Mount  Vernon  and  Buffington  estates  adjoined ; 
and,  according  to  Lady  Buffington,  when  George 
Washington  builded  the  wall  between  them,  he  made 
it  lap  over  on  her  property,  thus  sparing  every  inch  of 
his  own. 

Major  Buffington,  who  served  through  the  whole  of 
the  Revolution,  is  reputed  to  have  been  the  strongest 
man  in  the  army,  very  handsome,  and  so  tall  and  well- 
proportioned  as  to  carry  gracefully  his  weight  of  two 


8  CENEVIEVE    WARD. 

hundred  and  ninety  pounds.  His  hair  when  combed 
out  reached  to  his  ankles ;  and  his  Polish  servant,  who 
took  great  pride  in  it,  braided  and  looped  it  in  an 
elegant  cue.  Mrs.  Ward  distinctly  remembers,  in 
proof  of  his  fabulous  physical  powers,  seeing  him  on 
one  occasion  go  into  a  stable,  lay  his  hand  on  a  horse, 
and  push  it  over  flat  upon  the  ground ;  and  at  another 
time,  when  a  horse  was  running  away  with  a  buggy, 
Major  Buffington  sprang  forward,  and  catching  hold 
of  the  back  of  the  wagon  stopped  the  animal  by  main 
force  after  a  few  paces.  To  Lucy  Lee,  then  not  five 
years  old,  he  seemed  as  veritable  a  giant  as  any  that 
Jack  the  Giant-killer  ever  slew.  At  the  close  of  the 
Revolution  he  moved  with  his  family  from  Virginia  to 
Massachusetts,  where  he  settled  on  top  of  a  moun- 
tain near  Worthington,  and  devoted  his  remaining  en- 
ergies to  his  horses,  which  had  always  been  a  great 
passion  with  him  ;  a  feeling  shared  by  the  whole  fam- 
ily, who  ride,  drive,  and  manage  horses  admirably.  In 
1815  he  was  offered  a  generalship,  but  declined  on 
account  of  his  sufferings  from  epilepsy,  which  had  al- 
ready paled  his  naturally  jet-black  eyes  to  blue. 

"  Some  thirty  years  ago,"  said  Mrs.  Ward,  in  a  re- 
cent letter  to  a  friend,  "just  as  I  was  going  aboard  the 
steamer  for  Europe,  a  man  addressed  me,  asking  if  I 
was  a  descendant  of  Major  Buffington.  The  govern- 
ment of  Florida  had  sent  to  know,  there  being  a  tract 
of  land  belonging  to  him  in  that  State,  probably  given 
to  him  for  his  services  in  the  Revolution.  I  sent  this 
man  to  my  lawyer,  who,  however,  paid  no  attention 
to  it.  I  believe  there  is  an  island  and  a  stream  in  the 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  9 

West  named  Buffington  for  him :  I  have  no  papers, 
however,  on  these  or  kindred  matters,  as  my  step- 
mother and  I  were  not  friends.  She  had  been  my 
nursery-governess ;  and  she  never  gave  me  any  thing 
after  my  father's  death,  which  took  place  when  I  was 
abroad  and  very  ill." 

All  Mrs.  Ward's  early  recollections  are  of  such  men 
as  Clay,  Webster,  the  Waynes,  Gen.  Jackson,  Gov. 
Clinton ;  all  friends  of  her  father's,  whom  she  there- 
fore saw  constantly,  and  to  whom  she  was  a  never- 
palling  astonishment,  the  best  of  little  bons  camarades, 
a  fresh-hearted  child-sage,  never  to  be  driven,  bought, 
or  coaxed  from  the  most  courageously  truthful 
dealings. 

Gov.  Clinton,  who  could  not  get  warm  at  his  own 
fireside,  used  often  to  take  his  meals  with  the  Lees ; 
and  on  one  of  these  occasions,  in  the  course  of  a 
conversation  she  was  too  young  to  understand,  Lucy 
heard  her  father  suddenly  exclaim,  — 

"  If  you  do  that,  you'll  cut  the  throat  of  the  United 
States  ! " 

The  child  slipped  away,  and  tremblingly  thought  up- 
on this  announcement.  It  seemed  to  her  too  frightful 
to  be  spoken  of,  and  she  was  carefully  silent  though 
vividly  remembering  it.  At  last,  when  she  had  become 
a  "  grown-up,"  she  asked  her  father  about  it ;  and  he 
explained  that  Gov.  Clinton  had  wished  to  be  made 
governor  a  second  time,  which,  as  it  could  not  be 
done  without  giving  a  free  vote,  was  a  process  tant- 
amount, in  Gideon  Lee's  mind,  to  putting  the  knife  to 
the  throat  of  the  Republic. 


10  GENE VI EVE    WARD. 

Thomas  Cooper,  the  famous  elocutionist  of  Kem- 
ble's  time,  whose  powerful  "  Coriolanus  "  and  "  Julius 
Caesar  "  were  the  models  for  the  English  stage  of  those 
days,  used  to  visit  her  father  in  New  York,  and  took 
great  interest  in  the  marvellous  child.  He  would 
place  her  on  the  table  in  front  of  him,  and  repeat  long 
declamatory  passages,  which  she  would  recite  after 
him  with  scarcely  the  loss  of  a  word,  imitating  his 
gesture  and  accent  to  a  nicety.  Her  rich  voice  seemed 
a  miracle  in  a  body  so  small ;  but  wonder  at  this  was 
merged  in  wonder  at  the  memorizing  faculty,  and  at 
the  passionate  fidelity  of  the  imitation  which  fascinated 
Tom  Cooper,  and  made  these  scenes  great  treats  to 
them  all ;  and  it  was  emphatically  prophesied  that  she 
would  grow  up  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  wonders  of 
the  world.  When  barely  old  enough  to  hold  a  pencil 
she  made  little  drawings,  and  painted  miniatures  on 
rice-paper,  with  a  sense  of  color  and  a  notion  of  man- 
agement that  would  have  been  striking  in  a  much  older 
artist ;  and  her  improvisations  in  both  music  and  verse 
were  surprisingly  graceful  and  touching. 

But,  with  all  her  gifts  and  her  quickness,  little  Lucy 
was  very  plain,  and  was  constantly  hearing  this  fact 
affirmed  and  deplored,  not  always  as  kindly  as  in  Jona- 
than Edwards's  compassionate  eyes.  This  crushed  her. 
Everybody  was  kind  to  her,  and  of  admiration  she 
had  enough  to  have  turned  dozens  of  heads  of  another 
sort  than  hers ;  but  she  did  not  feel  herself  loved. 
To  those  who  know  her  in  these  days  of  her  wrinkles 
and  gray  hairs,  it  seems  impossible  that  she  should  not 
have  been  loved  in  her  childhood,  if  only  for  the  light 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  II 

and  quenchless  youth  of  the  eyes  and  smile  which 
make  plainness  and  old  age  in  her  so  lovely ;  but  the 
correctness  of  such  a  child's  instinct  can  hardly  be 
questioned.  She  craved  for  love,  always  missing  it. 
She  carried  herself  calmly,  with  the  seeming  careless- 
ness of  her  years ;  but  she  left  people  for  dumb  ani- 
mals. Horses,  dogs,  cows,  birds,  were  her  intimates. 
She  fed  them,  caressed  them ;  and  they  listened  to  all 
her  confidences,  and  loved  her,  each  after  its  kind. 
Birds,  particularly,  were  very  dear  and  tame  to  her ; 
and  she  has  never  tasted  their  flesh. 

With  little  notion  of  the  use  or  value  of  money,  she 
reaped  all  the  advantages  of  being  an  heiress.  She 
became  an  excellent  pianist,  played  both  the  harp  and 
guitar,  sang,  painted,  and  wrote  melodious  verse  and 
graphic  prose  with  great  facility. 

The  identity  of  Mrs.  Ward  used  sometimes  to  be 
confounded  with  that  of  Medora  Grimes,  wife  of 
Samuel  Ward  the  lobbyist,  for  the  latter  was  also  very 
talented.  But,  unlike  Gideon*  Lee's  bright  daughters, 
Medora  was  a  beauty  ;  and  by  this  point  of  difference 
the  two  brilliant  Mesdames  Ward  were  distinguished 
from  one  another. 

But  it  was  as  a  conversationalist  that  Mrs.  Ward,  nee 
Lucy  Lee,  outshone  all  other  talkers,  maintaining  the 
nicest  harmony  between  the  thoughtful,  weighty,  and 
witty  elements  of  conversation ;  so  that  her  supremacy 
in  this  fine  art  —  the  most  royal  and  perhaps  most 
exacting  of  all  the  arts  —  was  conceded  without  envy 
or  question,  That  she  was  a  perfect  hostess,  follows 
without  saying.  An  eclectic  number  of  the  political, 


12  CENEVIEVE    WARD. 

literary,  and  musical  celebrities  of  the  time  gathered 
around  her,  loath  to  lose  a  word  from  her  lips ;  and 
Daniel  Webster,  Calhoun,  Clay,  and  Tom  Corwin  used 
to  be  moved  to  tears  in  listening  to  her  singing  of 
"The  Irish  Emigrant,"  accompanied  by  the  guitar. 
For  her  singing  was  also  something  wonderful.  It  is 
said  that  her  voice  had  a  compass  of  four  full  octaves ; 
from  the  middle  register  ascending  it  was  a  fine,  soft 
soprano,  and  below  it  was  a  full,  strong  tenor. 

She  studied  song  in  Italy,  when  her  daughter  Gene- 
vieve  was  a  baby;  and  no  less  an  authority  than 
Madame  Garcia,  mother  of  Madame  Malibran,  said 
that  Mrs.  Ward's  voice  was  precisely  that  of  Madame 
Malibran,  only  it  had  greater  compass ;  that  their 
necks  were  formed  and  set  alike,  with  a  peculiarity 
which  she  thought  would  be  observable  in  all  great 
singers.  Mrs.  Ward's  teacher  in  singing  was  Signer 
Marchelini,  a  one-legged  Italian  of  great  talent  and 
taste,  who  was  also  the  prison-friend  of  Silvio  Pellico, 
whose  history  is  so  well  known. 

Once  when  a  guest  at  the  house  of  Catalini,  in  Italy, 
Mrs.  Ward  was  asked  to  sing,  and,  in  complying,  se- 
lected a  tenor  part.  Her  singing  was  quickly  inter- 
rupted by  Madame  Catalini's  exclamation, — 

"  No  !  I  cannot  believe  it !  It  cannot  be  you  who 
are  singing :  it  is  a  man's  voice  ! "  and  she  placed 
her  own  mouth  to  that  of  the  young  singer  to  feel  if  the 
notes  were  really  breathed  from  that  quarter.  Being 
by  this  process  at  last  convinced,  she  exclaimed,  with 
delight  and  amazement,  "  But  there  must  be  something 
wrong  here  !  This  is  not  human  !  " 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  13 

She  took  no  lessons  in  painting,  except  a  few  in 
landscape  from  an  Englishman,  and  afterward  of  Miss 
Viardot  in  Paris ;  but  she  had  the  benefit  of  Sir  William 
Newton's  advice  in  London,  and  in  Paris,  in  miniature, 
the  counsels  of  the  celebrated  M.  Isabey,  miniature- 
painter  of  the  court  of  Napoleon  the  Great. 

Mrs.  Ward's  Friday  receptions  in  Paris  were  at- 
tended by  the  chief  writers  and  artists  of  the  day. 
Musset  and  Balzac  were  there ;  the  great  painter  Ver- 
net  came,  and  David  d'Angers;  but  M.  Isabey  was 
one  of  the  most  interesting  of  her  guests.  Imagine  a 
gentleman  dressed  in  the  style  of  the  French  court 
during  the  period  when  Napoleon  affected  the  richest 
display  for  his  satellites,  —  a  man  over  eighty  years 
old,  yet  with  a  young  and  flashing  eye,  and  a  most 
polished  bearing,  —  and  you  have  M.  Isabey  in  Mrs. 
Ward's  Parisian  salon.  He  frankly  admired  her  work ; 
and  when  she  applied  to  him  for  the  address  of  Ma- 
dame Mirbel,  one  of  his  best  pupils,  that  she  might 
take  lessons  of  her,  he  begged  her  not  to  run  the  risk 
of  injuring  her  style,  "  already  combining  all  that  was 
most  finished  and  precious  in  miniature,  by  taking 
lessons  of  any  one  then  in  Paris." 

Since  I  have  seen  some  of  Mrs.  Ward's  work,  I  can 
appreciate  the  justice  of  such  praise.  Her  miniature 
on  ivory  of  Madame  Elizabeth,  Louis  XVI. 's  nobly 
famous  "  Angel  of  the  Prison "  sister,  is  beautifully 
worthy  of  its  subject ;  and  her  last  picture,  represent- 
ing her  daughter  Genevieve  at  the  age  of  eight,  painted 
this  summer  of  1881,  with  hand  and  eye  of  threescore 
years  and  ten,  is  not  only  one  of  the  fairest  ideals  of 


14  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

childish  innocence  and  aspiration  I  have  ever  seen, 
but  as  a  piece  of  work  is  so  delicately  fine,  it  appears 
rather  to  have  been  breathed  than  brushed  upon 
canvas. 

One  day  M.  Isabey  escorted  Mrs.  Ward  to  see  the 
famous  "Battle  of  the  Alma,"  while  in  process  of 
painting.  She  looked  at  the  Due  d'Aumale  on  horse- 
back, and  at  the  figure  of  the  woman  kneeling  on  the 
ground  in  front  of  him,  for  some  time,  with  scant 
comment. 

"  Well,  well,  well ! "  eagerly  exclaimed  M.  Isabey, 
when  they  had  come  out,  "  how  do  you  like  it? " 

"  Dear  friend,  I  like  it  very  much  —  all  but  the 
drawing  of  the  woman." 

"  Why  \  What  do  you  mean  ?  What  is  wrong  with 
her?" 

"Did  you  really  notice  nothing?"  said  Mrs.  Ward. 
"  Did  you  not  see  that  the  woman  is  kneeling  on  the 
ground,  while  the  duke  is  on  horseback,  yet  her  head 
comes  up  to  the  top  of  the  horse's  back ;  and  if  she 
should  rise,  she  would,  while  on  the  ground,  be  as  tall 
as  the  duke  on  horseback?" 

M.  Isabey,  who  was  personally  interested  in  the 
artist,  heard  her  in  consternation :  — 

"  But  if  this  is  so,  dear  madame,  we  must  go  back  : 
we  must  tell  him ;  it  must  be  fixed." 

"  But  we  cannot  go  back,  now  we  have  come  away." 

"  Yes,  we  can,"  persisted  M.  Isabey :  "  you  can  make 
an  excuse.  You  have  lost  —  yes,  you  have  lost  your 
handkerchief,"  taking  and  crunching  it  in  his  hand  : 
"  I  will  drop  it,  and  you  shall  find  it." 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  15 

So  they  played  this  friendly  little  trick ;  and,  to  his 
dismay,  M.  Isabey  found  that  Mrs.  Ward  was  right, 
and  when  they  again  came  out  said  he  must  devise 
some  way  for  getting  the  artist's  attention  to  such  a 
terrible  blunder. 

"  But  I  don't  think  the  dear  old  gentleman  found 
the  right  time,  and  the  courage,  at  the  same  moment," 
said  Mrs.  Ward  to  me  ;  "  for  the  picture  with  the  im- 
possible woman  hangs  in  the  palace  at  Versailles  to 
this  day." 

During  the  regime  of  Louis  Philippe,  Mrs.  Ward 
enjoyed  the  friendship  of  the  Marquise  de  Beaufort, 
whose  son  was  aide-de-camp  to  the  Duke  of  Orleans. 
She  frequently  accompanied  the  marquise  to  court, 
and  to  the  " intimes  soirees"  The  marquise  was  a 
great  favorite  with  the  royal  family,  who  constantly  sent 
her  gifts  of  fruits  and  flowers,  which  she  made  haste  to 
share  with  Mrs.  Ward.  They  met  daily ;  and  the  mar- 
quise, always  interested  in  every  thing  American,  was 
eager  to  taste  every  American  dish  which  Mrs.  Ward, 
who  added  to  her  other  gifts  that  of  being  a  true  chef 
de  cuisine,  had  prepared  for  the  novel  delectation  of 
her  kind  French  friend. 

When  Mrs.  Ward  was  in  Italy,  Hiram  Powers — who 
was  much  impressed  with  her  talents  —  told  her  that 
he  thought  she  had  even  greater  genius  for  modelling 
than  painting,  and  she  moulded  for  some  time  in  his 
studio ;  and  when  they  parted,  the  great  sculptor  gave 
her  the  instruments  with  which  Miss  Genevieve  Ward 
is  now  modelling. 


A   MADAME   WARD. 

Vous  qui  re'unissez  tant  de  talents  divers, 
Et  dont  le  coeur  unit  I'AmeVique  et  la  France, 
Permettez-moi  de  dire  aujourd'hui  dans  ces  vers, 
Que  vous  aimez  surtout  d  calmer  la  souffrance  1 
Lorsque  Paris  etait  en  proie  d  des  pervers, 
Que  la  bombe  6crasait  la  vieillesse  et  1'enfance; 
Quand  le  froid  et  le  faim  accroissaient  nos  revers, 
Qu'il  nous  restait  d  peine  un  rayon  d'espeVance,  — 
Alors,  n'ecoutant  plus  que  votre  charite", 
Votre  courage  ardent,  conduit  par  la  bont6, 
Dans  bien  des  creurs  francais  gravait  votre  memoire. 
Parmi  nous  votre  bon  nom  sera  souvent  cite  ; 
On  cherit  vos  talents  ;  mais  c'est  1'humanite', 
Qui  saura  mieux  encore  consacrer  votre  gloire. 

CHARLES  BOISSIERE. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  19 


II. 

MRS.  WARD'S  extensive  travels  have  made  the  whole 
world  her  home,  and  herself  a  cosmopolitan  thoroughly 
familiar  with  the  manners  and  customs,  and  with  the 
languages  even  to  the  dialects,  of  very  diverse  peoples ; 
and  over  a  long  period  the  columns  of  both  home  and 
foreign  journals  have  sparkled  with  her  apt  descriptions 
of  the  scenes  and  people  of  her  journeyings ;  and  the 
energy  with  which  she  has  devoted  her  ready  mimetic 
and  other  gifts  —  for  she  has  been  one  of  the  clever- 
est of  comediennes  —  to  social  or  beneficiary  service 
everywhere,  has  been  equalled  only  by  the  esteem  in 
which  the  greatest  have  held  her  talents  and  her  rare 
critical  powers. 

From  the  striking  episodes  of  her  eventful  life  I 
have  selected  certain  incidents  of  the  siege  of  Paris, 
not  only  because  they  afford  good  illustration  of  those 
salient  traits  which  have  less  defined  her  own  life  than 
wonderfully  guided  and  guarded  her  daughter's  career 
to  its  present  proud  eminence,  but  because  they  are 
of  international  interest,  and  have  not  hitherto  been 
generally  made  known. 

When  the  Franco-Prussian  war  was  declared,  Mrs. 
Ward  was  staying  in  Paris  with  her  son  Albert  Lee 


20  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

Ward.  Mr.  Ward  was  a  young  man  of  unusual  ca- 
pacity, gifted  with  good  sense  of  the  very  first  order, 
a  handsome  person,  and  elegant  manners ;  and  his  ac- 
quirements, especially  in  political  science  and  in  the 
mastery  of  languages,  had  already  gained  him  position 
in  the  diplomatic  service  in  the  city  of  Bristol,  England, 
as  American  vice-consul  and  Austrian  vice-consul ;  and 
for  a  time  as  consul-general  for  Portugal,  on  account 
of  the  death  of  their  own  consul-general,  in  which 
position  he  gave  such  satisfaction  to  the  Portuguese 
government  that  they  wished  to  retain  him  in  their 
office,  but  could  not  on  account  of  his  alien  birth.  He 
served  also  as  consul  pro  tern  at  Cairo,  at  the  time  of 
Butler's  ejection.  When  the  siege  of  Paris  was  immi- 
nent, Mr.  Ward  gave  up  his  position  in  a  bank  for  that 
of  secretary  to  the  American  Legation  ;  his  linguistic 
abilities  making  his  services  of  the  most  vital  impor- 
tance to  Mr.  Washburne,  then  the  American  minister 
to  France,  who  was  not  conversant  with  the  modern 
languages. 

The  mother  and  son,  previous  to  the  opening  of 
hostilities,  had  talked  over  the  matter  of  staying  or 
departing  from  the  troubled  capital,  and  had  concluded 
to  remain  in  the  hope  of  being  of  use  to  the  wounded 
in  case  of  battles,  and  perhaps  of  other  humane  as- 
sistance. 

One  Sunday  morning,  early  in  those  agitated  days, 
Mrs.  Ward,  who  had  lain  awake  all  night  on  gentle 
thoughts  intent,  rose  and  went  to  her  son's  room,  and 
roused  him  with  these  words,  — 

"Suppose  we  organize  an  ambulance.     Let  us  go 


GENE VI EVE    WARD.  21 

up  to  Dr.  Evans,  and  see  if  he  will  let  us  have  his  tools 
and  things  to  begin  with." 

Dr.  Thomas  Evans  was  an  American  dentist,  then 
residing  in  Paris,  and  the  owner  of  tents  and  other 
appurtenances  for  sanitary  purposes.  When  the 
Wards'  ambulance-plan  was  laid  before  him,  he  at 
once  begged  to  be  admitted  into  it. 

"  Let's  unite,"  said  he.  "  I'll  give  you  a  room  in  my 
apartments  in  the  Rue  de  la  Paix,  and  we  will  form 
an  ambulance ;  and  Mrs.  Ward  will  have  charge  of  the 
ladies'  sanitary  committee,  and  appeal  for  funds." 

Upon  this  followed  a  ladies'  meeting,  at  which  Dr. 
Evans  presided.  Mrs.  Ward  nominated  Mrs.  Dr. 
Evans  for  the  presidency  of  the  ladies'  sanitary  com- 
mittee ;  but,  as  this  lady  was  just  about  quitting  Paris, 
Mrs.  Ward  next  named  Mrs.  Anson  Burlingame ;  Mrs. 
Burlingame,  however,  was  also  about  to  leave  Paris, 
and  proposed  that  Mrs.  Ward,  who  had  initiated  the 
noble  measure,  should  be  made  president,  and  at  once 
subscribed  with  other  ladies  large  sums  in  support  of 
the  project.  In  a  speech,  Dr.  Evans  as  chairman 
declared  Mrs.  Ward  president  of  the  ladies'  sanitary 
committee. 

Mrs.  Parnell,  wife  of  the  Irish  agitator,  her  two 
daughters,  and  two  other  English  ladies,  joined  Mrs. 
Ward  heartily  in  the  labors  of  getting  up  the  ambu- 
lance :  lint  and  bandages  were  rapidly  made  ready, 
and  all  went  on  smoothly.  Dr.  Sims  of  New  York, 
Dr.  May  of  Baltimore,  and  some  other  young  Ameri- 
can physicians,  assisted  the  ladies  in  their  enterprise. 
Dr.  Evans,  and  his  secretary  Dr.  Crane,  Mr.  Albert 


22  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

Lee  Ward  (whom  Dr.  Evans  appointed  secretary  of  the 
ambulance  commission),  and  Dr.  Lamson,  one  of  the 
American  clergy,  formed  the  gentlemen's  committee ; 
but,  as  with  this  number  they  had  no  quorum,  Mr. 
Ward  proposed,  at  one  of  their  meetings,  that  Dr.  Sims 
should  be  added  to  their  committee.  To  everybody's 
astonishment,  Dr.  Evans  sprang  up  and  exclaimed,  — 

"  No  !  /  won't  have  him  on  !  " 

Dr.  Sims  remained  tranquil  until  the  meeting  was 
over,  then  walking  up*  to  Dr.  Evans,  and  asking,  "  What 
do  you  mean  by  saying  such  a  thing?"  struck  Dr. 
Evans  coolly  across  the  mouth  with  open  palm. 

Dr.  Evans  immediately  sat  clown  in  the  nearest  chair, 
and  in  a  crouching  attitude,  with  his  hands  lifted,  dep- 
recatingly  cried  out  several  times,  — 

"  Oh,  don't  hurt  me  !  don't  hurt  me  !  " 

"  Why  don't  you  pick  up  a  chair,  and  go  for  him, 
instead  of  whimpering  like  that?"  cried  Mr.  Ward. 

"  He  knocked  me  down,"  replied  Evans,  still  cow- 
ering. 

"  No,  that's  not  true,"  said  Mr.  Ward. 

Meantime  the  noise  of  the  altercation  had  reached 
the  ladies'  department;  and  Mrs.  Ward,  Dr.  May  of 
Baltimore,  Miss  Parnell,  and  the  other  English  ladies, 
rushed  across  the  passage  into  the  gentlemen's  com- 
mittee-rooms. 

Mr.  Ward  was  standing  with  his  hands  on  Dr.  Sims's 
shoulders,  as  in  friendly  restraint.  Dr.  Crane  had  hold 
of  Dr.  Evans,  from  whose  nose  a  few  drops  of  blood 
tri<  klcd.  The  moment  his  mother  appeared,  Mr. 
Ward  turned  to  her  and  the  other  ladies,  and  led  them 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  23 

from  the  room,  saying,  "Mother,  this  is  no  place  for 
you." 

The  next  morning  when  Mrs.  Ward  came  to  resume 
her  duties  in  the  ladies'  committee-room,  she  found 
the  door  locked,  and  was  informed  that  a  Mrs.  Conk- 
ling  had  been  placed  in  charge  by  order  of  Dr.  Evans. 

Wishing  to  reach  some  understanding  with  Dr. 
Evans  as  to  the  abrupt  and  peremptory  alteration  of 
affairs,  she  returned  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day, 
and  was  told  Dr.  Evans  had  left  town ;  but,  seeing  his 
carriage  waiting  at  a  little  distance,  she  concluded  to 
wait  also,  and  after  some  time  the  absent  doctor  came 
down-stairs. 

Mrs.  Ward  asked  him  at  once  for  an  explanation  of 
the  proceedings ;  to  which  he  replied,  that  he  could 
not  give  it  then,  as  he  was  just  leaving  for  Dieppe. 
He  was  looking  well,  showing  no  traces  whatever  of 
the  fray  of  the  previous  day,  and  Mrs.  Ward  congratu- 
lated him  pointedly  to  that  effect.  The  very  next  step 
in  the  matter,  however,  was  the  prosecution  of  Dr. 
Sims  by  Dr.  Evans,  damages  being  set  at  five  thousand 
francs ;  and  all  the  members  of  both  committees  were 
summoned  to  court. 

Dr.  Evans  testified  that  he  had  been  severely  injured 
physically  by  the  assault  of  Dr.  Sims,  and  had  lost  a 
great  deal  of  money  also,  in  consequence  of  being 
unable  to  attend  to  his  business. 

Dr.  Crane  denied  that  he  was  Dr.  Evans's  secretary, 
or  had  received  any  salary  from  him,  and  then  cor- 
roborated precisely  the  testimony  of  Dr.  Evans  as  to 
the  injuries  the  latter  had  received  in  body  and  purse. 


24  GENE VI EVE    WARD. 

Dr.  May  stated  that  he  had  just  arrived  from  Dieppe  ; 
that,  on  the  day  succeeding  that  of  the  alleged  assault, 
Dr.  Evans  had  arrived  at  Dieppe  perfectly  well,  and 
had  eaten  dinner  there  like  every  one  else  at  table 
(thdtc. 

Mrs.  Ward  testified  that  she  had  seen  Dr.  Evans  the 
next  day  after  the  encounter ;  that  he  was  looking  just 
as  usual,  and  had  received  her  congratulations  on  the 
fact. 

Dr.  Sims  gave  his  testimony  in  accordance  with  that 
of  Mrs.  Ward  and  Dr.  May.  He  apologized  hand- 
somely to  the  court  for  having  disturbed  the  laws  of  a 
country  he  so  profoundly  esteemed ;  and,  not  being 
familiar  with  the  French  language,  he  made  everybody 
laugh  by  adding,  "  I  only  gave  him  a  sifflet"  (whistle), 
meaning  to  have  said  soufflet  (light  blow) . 

The  decision  of  the  court  was  given  morally  on  the 
side  of  the  defendant ;  the  damages  being  placed  at 
three  hundred  francs,  the  lowest  legal  limit. 

As  the  party  were  going  out  of  court,  Dr.  Evans 
shook  his  fist  in  Mrs.  Ward's  face,  declaring  he  would 
have  her  up  for  libel.  A  New-Orleans  lawyer  who  had 
been  much  interested  in  the  case  happened  to  be  close 
behind  them,  and  pulled  out  his  note-book,  exclaiming, 
"  What's  that !  what's  that ! "  upon  which  Dr.  Evans 
disappeared. 

At  this  period  Dr.  Evans  was  in  communication  with 
the  Queen  of  Prussia,  and  had  shown  to  the  ambu- 
lance a  letter  the  queen  had  written  to  him ;  and  he 
was  commonly  spoken  of  as  the  back-stair  friend  of 
Louis  Napoleon,  which  seems  to  afford  some  indica- 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  2$ 

tion  of  the  reason  why,  when  he  soon  after  went  to 
England,  he  was  not  permitted  to  return  to  Paris  while 
the  siege  lasted. 

It  is  now  reported  that  he  denies  that  there  ever 
was  a  ladies'  sanitary  committee.  But  the  foregoing 
account  can  be  verified,  having  been  taken  from  the 
minutes  of  the  ladies'  sanitary  committee. 

Aftef  this  suit,  and  just  before  Dr.  Evans  left  for 
England,  two  English  gentlemen  arrived  in  Paris  with 
two  thousand  pounds  they  were  intending  to  give  to 
the  American  ambulance.  On  talking  with  Dr.  Evans, 
and  finding  that  he  wished  to  be  considered  the  only 
person  concerned  with  the  ambulance,  and  to  have  his 
name  printed  on  every  thing,  even  to  the  pill-boxes 
and  straps  and  toggery  of  the  wagons,  these  English- 
men promptly  handed  over  the  money  to  the  French 
sanitary  committee  at  the  Palais  de  I'lndustrie,  which 
Dr.  Sims,  Dr.  May,  and  the  other  physicians  had 
joined. 

When  the  battle  of  Sedan  was  thought  to  be  immi- 
nent, Dr.  Sims  came  to  Mrs.  Ward,  and  said  they  were 
organizing  an  ambulance  to  go  out  to  Sedan,  and 
asked  if  she  would  be  willing  to  take  part  in  a  beg- 
ging march  from  the  Palais  de  r Industrie  to  the  rail- 
way-station. This  procession,  conceded  to  have  been 
the  handsomest  ever  seen  in  time  of  war,  was  formed 
as  follows.  First,  in  double  file,  came  the  servants  of 
the  ambulance  in  bright  uniform,  under  the  command 
of  the  tall  and  handsome  Count  Serrurier,  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  Societe  Fran$aise  de  Secours  aux  Blesses, 
an  officer  who  rendered  eminent  services  during  the 


26  CENEVIEVE    WARD. 

war.  Next  came  the  military  band,  followed  by  three 
ladies ;  Mrs.  Carr  and  Miss  Carrie  Sims  (both  daugh- 
ters of  Dr.  Sims)  and  Mrs.  Ward.  The  Sims  ladies 
declined  to  carry  the  English  flag,  preferring  to  carry 
the  French  and  American  banners.  To  settle  this 
point,  Mrs.  Ward  heartily  volunteered  to  be  the  bearer 
of  the  "grandmother's  blanket,"  as  the  English  flag 
used  jocularly  to  be  called  to  distinguish  it  from  the 
"  grandmother's  gridiron,"  the  stars  and  stripes. 

Mr.  Ward  walked  beside  his  mother,  then  nearly 
sixty  years  old,  to  help  her  bear  the  really  heavy  stand- 
ard. Another  gentleman  walked  on  the  other  side 
of  the  three  ladies  to  hold  out  the  contribution-bags. 
Then  came  the  body  of  physicians,  followed  by  the 
new  and  resplendent  ambulance-wagon  and  the  led 
horses.  A  thick  crowd  closed  in  upon  the  rear  of  the 
procession,  following  it  all  the  way. 

On  seeing  this  bright  and  sturdy  phalanx  pass  up 
the  boulevards,  with  the  three  ladies  marching  in  the 
midst,  bearing  the  flags  of  England,  America,  and 
France,  the  people,  officers,  and  soldiers  formed  a 
dense  hedge  on  either  side,  and  gave  them  military 
salutes.  Fired  with  sympathy  in  the  noble  purpose  of 
the  march,  they  threw  off  their  caps  in  the  greatest 
enthusiasm,  crying  all  along  the  line,  "  God  bless  you  ! 
God  bless  you  !  O  you  dear,  brave  women  !  " 

About  fifteen  thousand  francs  were  taken  in  this 
march. 

Later,  when  the  American  ambulance  was  about 
breaking  up  for  want  of  funds,  Mr.  Ward  called  a 
meeting  of  the  few  Americans  then  in  Paris,  stated  the 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  2/ 

situation,  pledged  every  franc  he  himself  possessed  to 
the  maintenance  of  the  enterprise  in  the  name  of 
American  honor,  and  even  vouched  for  Dr.  Evans 
that  the  latter  would,  when  permitted  to  return  to 
Paris,  refund  all  sums  so  expended ;  which  Dr.  Evans 
subsequently  did. 

Mr.  Ward's  action  re-animated  popular  interest  in 
the  project.  Contributions  poured  in  :  Hon.  Stuart 
Wortley  loaned  twenty-five  thousand  francs  to  Mr. 
Ward  for  it ;  and  old  Mr.  Boucicault  of  the  Bon  Mar- 
ch^ gave  Mrs.  Ward  five  hundred  francs,  and  any  arti- 
cle she  might  require  for  the  ambulance. 

Such  were  the  means  by  which  the  American  ambu- 
lance was  saved  to  do  great  and  humane  service.  Of 
the  situation  of  the  besieged,  Mrs.  Ward  wrote  to  a 
friend :  — 

"  At  last  we  were  shut  up  in  the  siege.  Hams  were  selling 
at  two  hundred  francs,  and  every  thing  else  in  proportion.  We 
had  at  the  start  plenty  of  tea,  and  some  dried  beans  and  canned 
cranberries ;  but  they  didn't  last  long.  Then  the  arrondissement 
gave  us  a  card  on  which  we  were  allotted  a  certain  amount  of 
horse-meat  for  my  son,  self,  and  servant.  She  would  go  about 
ten  A.M.,  and  return  about  four  P.M.,  with  the  few  ounces  be- 
longing to  us;  having  been  obliged  to  wait  all  that  time  for  her 
turn  to  come  in  the  long  line  of  applicants. 

"At  last  our  allowance  was  a  piece  of  horse-meat  three 
inches  square  for  all  three  of  us,  for  three  days. 

"This  was  indeed  starvation  portions.  My  son  was  fre- 
quently invited  to  partake  of  the  meagre  fare  of  the  generals, 
most  of  whom  he  knew  officially ;  and  once  Gen.  de  Maussion, 
hearing  him  say  he  had  some  salt  pork,  begged  a  piece  in  ex- 
change for  a  piece  of  mutton.  .  .  .  Once  Gen.  Appert,  knowing 
that  Albert  was  ill,  sent  him  in  from  outside  the  walls  a  piece 


28  G£A7-:r//-:r/-:  WARD. 

of  tenderloin,  the  soldiers  having  caught  a  stray  bullock.  Mrs. 
Appcrt  had  received  some  little  birds  caught  in  Paris.  Mr. 
Hoskier,  of  Brown  Brothers,  a  brother  of  Mrs.  Appert,  sent  us 
some  wood ;  and  it  was  a  curious  sight  to  see  the  Marquis  de 
Jouffroy  making  charcoal  in  an  iron  pot,  for  we  had  no  means 
of  cooking  except  with  charcoal. 

"  We  had  charge  of  several  horses  and  carriages ;  but  for 
this  care,  the  horses  would  have  been  seized  for  food.  Well, 
when  the  wood  came  from  Mr.  Hoskier,  I  put  some  of  it  in  one 
of  the  carriages.  It  was  elegantly  lined  with  blue  satin,  but  I 
did  not  once  think  of  that  when  I  was  laying  in  the  wood. 

"  Only  the  day  before,  Dr.  Gordon  had  come  running  eagerly 
up  the  stairs  with  a  present  for  me. 

"Some  friend  had  given  to  him  and  his  coadjutor,  Sir  James 
Innes,  M.D.,  two  ordinary  smoked  herring.  They  had  kept 
one  for  themselves,  and  here  was  Dr.  Gordon  with  the  other. 

"  Dividing  my  herring,  and  taking  my  place  on  the  blue 
satin  along  with  the  wood,  I  drove  to  the  house  of  a  friend  who 
lay  in  bed  weak  for  want  of  food,  and  without  fire.  She  had 
four  grown-up  sons.  I  sent  up-stairs  for  them,  that  they  might 
come  down  and  carry  up  the  wood ;  for,  had  I  left  it  for  a 
moment,  it  would  have  been  stolen. 

"  I  called  the  four  youths  to  me,  and  made  them  promise  not 
to  touch  the  fish  I  had  brought,  and  then  went  up  stairs  with 
the  half-herring  to  their  mother.  All  this  may  seem  laughable 
now  ;  but  no  one  laughed  then.  .  .  . 

"  During  the  armistice  Dr.  Gordon  got  hold  of  a  piece  of 
white  bread  and  butter,  and  gave  it  to  me.  The  butter  I  ate 
as  if  it  had  been  an  apple,  being  quite  out  of  carbon  of  my 
own  by  that  time.  ...  I  made  tea  every  day ;  and  Dr.  Gordon, 
and  Hon.  Lewis  Wingfield,  who  was  attached  to  the  ambu- 
lance, and  was  exceedingly  attentive  and  of  great  service 
during  the  operations,  and  Sir  James  Innes,  and  any  other 
friends  who  chose,  were  welcome  to  a  cup  when  they  came 
in.  It  was  also  during  the  armistice,  that  Col.  Stuart  Wortley 
gave  me  several  hundred  bonds  for  food  he  brought  over  for 
me  to  distribute  among  the  poor.  Albert  ate  the  meat  of  the 
horse,  mule,  donkey,  kangaroo,  and  elephant. 


GENE  VIE  VE    WARD.  2C) 

"The  elephant-steak  was  pink,  like  the  inside  of  a  conch- 
shell,  and  the  flesh  of  the  finest  fibre ;  and  Dr.  Gordon  and 
Albert  found  it  excellent.  Dogs  were  two  prices  :  Newfound- 
lands were  six  francs  a  pound,  and  small  dogs  three  francs. 
Two  rats  ran  into  our  apartment.  The  man  from  the  court- 
yard came  and  killed  them,  and  begged  them  of  us  for  food. 
Rats  were  then  selling  for  two  francs  apiece.  Yet  some  people 
have  asserted  there  was  plenty  of  food  in  Paris. 

"  Count  Messay  asked  us  to  dine  on  mutton,  as  he  had  se- 
cured a  leg.  The  odor  was  certainly  that  of  mutton,  but  the 
leg  was  the  leg  of  the  Newfoundland  dog ! 

"  The  Marquis  de  Jouffroy  executed  one  of  the  most  difficult 
feats  of  the  war.  He  knew  every  tree  and  rock  between  Paris 
and  Versailles,  where  his  aunt  lived.  He  slipped  out  of  Paris, 
unseen,  and  reached  Versailles  on  foot ;  took  a  bushel-basket, 
filled  it  with  white  bread,  butter,  and  chicken,  and  crept  back 
into  Paris,  with  this  heavy  basket  on  his  shoulder,  unnoticed 
and  unhurt.  His  escape  —  for  the  Germans  threw  an  electric 
light  all  the  time  around  Paris  —  is  a  marvel  to  himself  and 
his  friends  to  this  day.  The  contents  of  his  basket  he  divided 
between  his  aunt,  the  Countess  D ,  and  me." 

Mr.  Albert  Lee  Ward's  labors  during  the  siege  were 
very  exacting,  occupying  from  eighteen  to  twenty 
hours  out  of  the  twenty-four.  Three,  four,  or  five 
times  a  week,  he  carried  the  despatch-bag  to  Versailles ; 
leaving  at  four  in  the  morning  during  the  severe  win- 
ter, and  being,  during  the  cold  and  lonesome  journey, 
always  under  fire  from  both  French  and  German  ram- 
part guns  and  shells. 

One  day,  just  at  daylight,  as  Mr.  Ward  was  starting 
out  with  the  despatches,  he  halted  at  a  tavern  on  the 
road  for  a  glass  of  water.  A  bomb-shell  struck  the 
house,  and  covered  him  with  plaster  and  dirt.  His 
horse  ran  away  with  him,  and  was  only  brought  up 


30  GENE VI EVE    WARD. 

by  the  barricade  at  the  Pont  de  Sevres.  He  was  the 
only  American  incurring  personal  danger  during  the 
siege,  except  from  the  bomb-shells  thrown  into  the 
city,  to  which,  of  course,  all  were  exposed. 

Mornings  and  evenings  he  was  at  the  ambulance, 
receiving  and  helping  the  wounded. 

He  was  deputed  by  Mr.  Washburne  to  release  the 
Germans  from  the  prisons;  and.  in  discharging  this 
commission,  Mr.  Ward  took  many  poor  but  respectable 
German  women  who  had  been  shut  up  with  culprits 
of  all  kinds,  —  and  many  of  them  had  lain  in  these 
holes  a  month  without  change  of  linen, — and  himself 
procured  the  necessaries  for  them,  and  placed  them 
in  convents. 

Among  his  numerous  duties,  were  those  of  interpret- 
ing between  Mr.  Washburne  and  all  foreign  officials, 
and  of  translating  Mr.  Washburne's  speeches  and  pub- 
lic addresses  viva  voce  into  French.  As  one  of  the 
three  directors  of  the  American  ambulance,  Mr.  Ward 
had  frequent  communication  with  the  chief  officers  of 
the  Societe  de  Secours  aux  Blesses,  and,  through  his 
friendly  relations  with  them,  was  able  to  obtain  many 
facilities  and  favors.  For  example,  one  day  when  Mr. 
Washburne  had  returned  to  the  Legation,  after  having 
made  unsuccessful  application  for  passes,  Mr.  Ward 
asked  permission  to  go  and  see  what  he  could  do,  and 
soon  came  back  with  the  desired  papers.  A  gentle- 
man at  about  this  time  told  Mrs.  Ward  that  he  had 
been  all  the  morning  engaged  in  translating  German 
lettters  for  the  Legation,  and  that  these  letters  all 
breathed  the  warmest  gratitude  to  Mr.  Ward  for  his 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  31 

varied  and  untiring  kindness ;  and,  by  those  most  con- 
versant with  things  in  the  beleaguered  city,  he  came  to 
be  spoken  of  as  "  the  man  of  the  siege." 

At  the  time  of  the  revolt  in  October,  Mr.  Ward 
accompanied  Mr.  Washburne,  incog.,  to  the  Hotel  de 
Ville,  where  they  would  probably  have  lost  their  lives 
but  for  Mr.  Ward's  presence  of  mind.  A  great  tumult 
arose  just  as  they  were  coming  out ;  and  the  sentinels, 
hearing  the  cry  of  "  Spies  !  "  crossed  their  guns  to  pre- 
vent their  exit.  Mr.  Ward  sprang  forward,  and  throw- 
ing .up  the  guns,  cried  in  a*  firm  loud  voice, — 

"  Attention  pour  son  excellence  ! "  and  they  were 
instantly  permitted  to  pass. 

While  the  son  was  thus  engaged,  the  mother  was 
performing  noble  works  of  compassion  and  mercy, 
regardless  of  difficulty  or  fatigue,  and  though  already 
greatly  weakened  by  want  of  proper  food.  After 
Labouchere  had  so  inconsiderately  written  to  "The 
London  Daily  News,"  that  the  London  journals  could 
be  read  at  any  time  lying  on  the  tables  of  the  United 
States  Legation,  and  Bismarck  had  sent  in  his  em- 
bargo that  they  must  thereafter  be  withheld  from 
everybody  except  Mr.  Washburne,  Mrs.  Ward  never- 
theless succeeded  more  than  once  in  procuring  the 
advertising  sheet  of  "The  Times,"  and  copied  long 
columns  of  messages  inserted  in  the  hope  of  their 
reaching  the  eyes  of  friends  and  relatives  in  the  be- 
sieged city.  These  messages  expressed  the  tenderest 
solicitude  and  affection,  and  pleaded  for  some  good 
word  or  sign  in  return,  if  such  could  by  any  possibility 
be  rendered.  Having  copied  these,  Mrs.  Ward  took 


32  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

them  herself  to  the  persons  and  places  indicated. 
Many  were  addressed  to  the  poorer  classes ;  and  she 
dragged  herself  up  five  and  six  flights  of  stairs  to  raise 
these  loving  souls  from  despair  to  joy.  They  hugged 
her  knees,  kissed  the  hem  of  her  dress,  and  begged 
her  name,  that  they  might  bear  it  in  their  most  ardent 
prayers  to  God,  while  the  tears  rolled  down  the 
wrinkled  faces  of  the  old,  and  the  pale,  hollow  cheeks 
of  the  young.  She  did  not  give  her  name,  but  told 
them  she  was  the  "  carrier-pigeon  ;  "  and  often  since 
then  she  has  been  accosted  on  the  street  with  the 
sudden  cry :  — 

"  Ah,  dear  madame,  it  is  you.  You  are  the  '  carrier- 
pigeon  : '  may  God  forever  bless  you  !  " 

One  young  man  whom  she  thus  visited  had  been 
married  but  little  over  three  months  when  the  siege 
separated  him  from  his  wife ;  since  when,  six  months 
had  supervened  without  his  having  the  least  knowledge 
of  her. 

When  Mrs.  Ward  began  to  read  that  a  son  had  been 
born  to  him,  and  that  both  mother  and  babe  were 
doing  well,  his  joy  was  something  beyond  description. 
He  stretched  forth  his  hands,  turned  pale  as  death, 
then  burst  into  a  ringing  laugh,  sobbing  all  the  while 
in  deep  gasps,  "  Thank  God  !  thank  God  ! " 

One  very  old  woman  sprang  forward  with  the  mo- 
tion of  a  girl,  and  clasped  Mrs.  Ward  to  her  bosom 
when  she  heard  that  her  husband  was  alive  and  well. 
And  M.  Virot,  husband  of  the  famous  modiste,  was  so 
happy  at  hearing  of  his  wife's  welfare,  that  he  pressed 
a  donation  upon  Mrs.  Ward  for  the  ambulance. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  33 

There  are  many  Americans  who  will  remember 
"  old  Mother  Busque,"  whose  neat  little  milk-shop  in 
the  Rue  Michaudiere  was  an  American  institution  in 
Paris.  She  was  a  pale,  thin  woman,  of  exceeding 
kindness  of  heart.  She  served  her  customers  with 
delicious  coffee,  and  chops  cooked  as  only  Mother 
Busque  knew  how  to  cook  them.  Some  Americans 
who  were  interested  sent  home  -for  receipts  for  ginger- 
bread, pumpkin-pie,  mince-pie,  molasses- candy,  etc., 
by  which  receipts  Mother  Busque  soon  turned  out  the 
real  American  dishes :  her  buckwheat-cakes  were  a 
marvel,  and  her  shop  became  the  great  eating-place 
for  every  thing  American. 

To  the  poor  and  the  hungry,  especially  if  they  were 
Americans,  she  gave  not  only  of  her  wares,  but  such 
sums  as  she  could  spare  besides. 

She  and  her  nephew  suffered  much  during  the  siege. 
Mrs.  Ward,  who  knew  her  well  and  appreciated  her, 
did  what  she  could  to  make  those  dark  days  lighter ; 
and  carried  her  a  few  beans  or  a  potato  now  and  then, 
from  her  own  terribly  small  store,  in  the  hope  of  keep- 
ing her  alive.  One  day,  having  just  come  into  pos- 
session of  a  little  bit  of  cheese,  Mrs.  Ward  hastened 
around  to  Mother  Busque,  crying  out  as  she  entered,  — 

"  I've  got  something  nice  for  you,  mammy  !  " 

The  nephew  in  silence  pointed  to  an  inner  door ; 
and  within  lay  poor  kind  Mother  Busque,  quite  dead 
from  starvation.  Soon  after,  on  a  cold  morning,  Mrs. 
Ward  in  a  private  carriage,  Mr.  Huntington  the  jour- 
nalist, Mr.  Albert  Lee  Ward,  and  Mother  Busque's 
nephew  followed  the  poor  hearse  to  the  Montmartre 


34  GENE  VIE  VE    WARD. 

cemetery,  where  the  body  of  this  truly  good  woman 
was  laid  to  rest. 

I  have  seen  the  little  card  sent  by  Mr.  Albert  Ward 
during  the  siege,  to  his  anxious  father  and  sister  Gene- 
vieve  then  in  America,  dated  "Paris,  Jan.  27,  1871," 
and  marked  No.  75.  It  read, — 

BELOVED  ONES,  —  Mother  and  self  quite  well.    No  shells 
have  yet  reached  our  domicile,  and  not  likely  to. 
Your  loving  son  and  brother, 

AL. 

and  was  sent  "par  ballon  monte"  borne  in  the  little 
wind -car  out  and  over  Paris ;  and,  singularly  enough, 
bears  its  three  distinct  postmarks,  of  Paris,  Jan.  2  7 ; 
of  London,  Feb.  3  ;  and  of  New  York,  Feb.  1 7. 

Mrs.  Ward  called  on  Mrs.  Appert  one  morning,  and 
found  Gen.  Appert,  Prince  Bibesco,  and  other  gentle- 
men at  breakfast,  to  whom  Gen.  Appert  said  as  she 
came  in,  — 

"Gentlemen,  we  know  we  have  two  true  friends 
among  the  Americans,  Mrs.  and  Mr.  Ward ;  and  I  am 
to  tell  you  "  (turning  to  Mrs.  Ward),  "from  Gen.  Tro- 
chu,  that  you  are  to  have  the  decoration  of  the  Legion 
of  Honor,  and  Prince  Bibesco  is  charged  with  the 
order." 

Count  Clermont  Tonerre,  Chef  du  Cabinet  du  Mi- 
nis fere  de  la  Guerre,  said  he  wished  Mr.  Ward  to  have 
the  cross ;  and  counselled  him  to  write  for  it,  which 
Mr.  Ward  declined  to  do. 

La  Societe  des  Secours  aux  Blesses  sent  Mrs.  Ward 
and  Mr.  Ward  a  bronze  cross  with  a  white  ribbon  em- 
broidered with  a  red  cross,  also  a  letter  attesting  their 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  35 

great  services;  and  in  1872  the  poet  Charles  Bois- 
siere, president  of  the  Soci&e'  Philotechnique,  wrote 
the  sonnet  to  Mrs.  Ward,  which  is  prefixed  to  the 
present  section  of  this  work.  As  Gen.  Hoffman,  in  his 
able  and  picturesque  account  of  the  siege  of  Paris,1 
seems  not  to  have  known  that  Mrs.  Ward  and  her  son 
were  the  initiators  of  the  American  ambulance  enter- 
prise, were  faithful  and  efficient  workers  from  first  to 
last  in  its  interests,  and  finally  its  saviours  from  total 
collapse  ;  and  seems  also  to  be  wholly  uninformed  of 
Mrs.  Ward's  unselfish  and  courageous  labors  for  the 
relief  of  the  distressed,  as  well  as  of  the  important 
services,  both  official  and  voluntary,  rendered  by  Mr. 
Ward  during  the  siege,  and  to  which  he  sacrificed  his 
health  beyond  any  hope  of  full  recovery ;  and  as  in 
Dr.  Evans's  work  on  the  American  Ambulance  at  the 
Siege  of  Paris,' — a  work  voluminous  enough  to  accom- 

1  In  examining  Gen.  Hoffman's  account  of  the  American  Legation's  con- 
duct of  affairs  during  the  siege  of  Paris,  I  have  been  painfully  surprised  to 
find  grounds  for  the  assertion  I  have  heard  from  more  than  one  direction,  that 
the  American  Legation  was  a  fruitful  source  of  information  to  the  Germans  at 
Versailles.  Notably  on  p.  205  of"  Camp,  Court,  and  Siege,"  Gen.  Hoffman 
lightly  recounts,  that,  when  at  the  German  outposts,  "  I  met  here  a  young 
American,  who  was  living  not  far  from  Versailles,  and  who  was  known  to 
Count  Bismarck.  I  ga-ve  him  a  couple  of  morning  papers.  That  evening 
he  dined  with  Bismarck,  and  offered  to  sell  him  the  papers  for  a  quart  bottle 
of  champagne  for  the  big  one,  and  a  pint  bottle  for  the  little  one.  Bismarck 
offered  a  quart  bottle  for  both;  but  my  American  indignantly  rejected  the 
terms.  So  Bismarck  accepted  his,  and  paid  the  bottle  and  a  half.  I  record 
this  as  the  only  diplomatic  triumph  ever  scored  against  Bismarck." 

At  the  time  and  on  the  very  occasion  when  the  Secretary  of  the  United 
States  Legation  gave  these  "  morning  papers  "  to  Bismarck's  friend,  as  he  thus 
publicly  avows,  the  people  permitted  to  leave  the  besieged  city  were  signing, 
by  order  of  Minister  Washburne,  a  paper  which  forbade  the  passing  of  letters, 
newspapers,  or  information  of  any  sort,  over  the  lines,  under  heavy  military 
penalty. 


36  CENEVIEVE    WARD. 

modate  full  particulars,  —  there  is,  so  far  as  I  could 
discover  in  a  necessarily  rapid  but  sincere  survey,  no 
mention  whatever  of  Mrs.  Ward,  and  only  a  merely 
nominal  one  of  Mr.  Ward,  —  it  will,  I  am  sure,  be  ad- 
mitted that  the  pages  of  this  little  volume  are  a  fitting 
place  to  make  good  so  striking  a  deficiency. 

The  Wards  live  when  in  London  at  Corda  Lodge, 
10  Cavendish  Road,  St.  John's  Wood,  N.  W.  Like 
countless  other  English  cottages,  Corda  Lodge  is  of 
plain  and  simple  construction ;  but  the  arrangements 
and  effects  which  depend  upon  the  occupant  have 
made  it  a  home  of  art  and  comfort.  Quiet,  informal 
habits ;  simple  furniture ;  a  few  gems  among  plenty  of 
good  pictures;  music,  books,  a  painting  in  process 
under  the  mother's  hand,  a  bust  being  retouched  by 
the  daughter ;  political  and  literary  miscellany  on  the 
table  of  the  son ;  two  wonderfully  clever  and  pretty 
little  dogs ;  a  parrot  in  the  garden  that  never  squawks, 
but  whistles  and  soliloquizes  musically,  as  becomes  a 
bird  of  artistic  associations ;  a  maid  with  velvety  dark 
Italian  eyes,  who  comes  and  goes  like  a  picture  carried 
by  some  one  else ;  a  French  porter,  with  hair  so  duc- 
tile-flat he  would  have  been  the  despair  of  Traddles, 
who  is  exceedingly  courteous  to  his  superiors,  but  is 
overheard  indulging  in  the  FJintwinchian  propensity 
of  running  up  and  generally  dosing  the  hapless  cook 
in  the  most  vindictive  manner ;  the  sound  of  laughter, 
merry  and  hearty  mingling  of  voices  in  the  chambers 
talking  back  and  forth,  and  from  the  drawing-room 
below ;  and,  as  you  enter,  a  welcome  of  that  frank  and 
instant  sort,  such  as  only  the  thoroughbred  cosmopoli- 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  37 

tan  knows  how  to  make  you  feel,  —  these  are  the 
spirit  and  ensemble  of  Corda  Lodge  ;  named  Corda  for 
Mrs.  Cordelia  Sanford,  a  very  dear  friend  of  Miss 
Ward's,  and  wife  of  Col.  Milton  H.  Sanford,  the  gen- 
tleman who  first  started  the  notion  of  taking  over 
American  horses  to  England,  to  compete  in  English 
races,  which  recently  resulted  in  the  brilliant  victory 
won  for  the  American  turf  by  Iroquois. 

One  very  warm  day  of  June,  1881,  I  was  sitting  in 
the  drawing-room  of  Corda  Lodge,  talking  with  Miss 
Genevieve  Ward,  when  I  heard  a  step,  light  and  quick 
like  that  of  a  little  girl,  coming  down  the  stairs  and  to 
the  drawing-room  door,  and  looked  up  to  see  an  old 
lady  come  into  the  room.  She  stooped  slightly,  and 
her  hair  was  gray ;  but  her  motion  was  that  of  the 
freshest  youth  and  unsapped  life,  and  her  dark  eyes, 
not  large  but  deep,  had  the  mingled  flash  and  twinkle 
which  we  usually  see  only  in  the  eyes  of  childhood. 
She  had  on  her  bonnet  to  go  out  walking,  and  lingered 
only  for  a  few  words.  But  the  impression  made  upon 
me  in  those  first  brief  moments,  of  a  nature  in  which 
a  certain  stern  Puritan  fibre  runs  like  a  stem  through  a 
moral  braid  of  benignity,  energy,  and  quick  broad 
human  warmth,  —  and  all  these  sparkled  over  with 
spontaneous  humor, — has  deepened  with  every  meet- 
ing and  conversation,  in  which  I  find  the  charm  and 
depth  that  was  reputed  of  her  conversational  powers 
in  her  youth. 

"If,"  said  the  tragedienne  to  me  one  day,  "if,  in- 
stead of  being  left  in  her  youth  to  drift  with  her  own 
rich  impulses,  confused  by  the  multiplicity  of  her  own 


38  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

gifts,  my  mother  had  received  but  half  the  wise  care 
and  training  she  has  given  me,  she  could  have  splen- 
didly distanced  all  competitors  in  any  one  of  the  great 
departments  of  art  or  literature." 

It  is  little  wonder  that  her  family  and  intimate 
friends  admire  and  revere  Mrs.  Ward  as  they  do ;  for 
a  heart  more  young,  and  a  purpose  more  robust,  never 
in  the  form  of  age  more  calmly  smiled  at  time.  Her 
eye  is  the  quickest  to  see  any  thing  yet  undone  for  the 
good  or  the  comfprt  of  those  around  her,  her  hand 
the  readiest  in  the  doing  of  tender  and  homelike 
things,  and  her  step  the  lightest  footfall  heard  in 
Corda  Lodge. 


SONG   OF   THE   SERF.* 

I  KNOW  a  lofty  lady, 

And  she  is  wondrous  fair : 
She  hath  wrought  my  soul  to  music 

As  the  leaves  are  wrought  by  air ; 
And,  like  the  air  that  wakes 

The  foliage  into  play, 
She  feels  no  thrill  of  all  she  makes 

When  she  has  passed  away. 

I  know  a  lofty  lady 

Who  seldom  looks  on  me, 
Or,  when  she  smiles,  her  smile  is  like 

The  moon's  upon  the  sea. 
As  proudly  and  serene 

She  shines  from  her  domain, 
Till  my  spirit  heaves  beneath  her  mien, 

And  floods  my  aching  brain. 

I  know  a  lofty  lady ; 

But  I  would  not  wake  her  scorn 
By  telling  all  the  love  I  bear. 

For  I  am  lowly  born,  — 
So  low,  and  she  so  high ; 

And  the  space  between  us  spread 
Makes  me  but  as  the  weeds  that  lie 

Beneath  her  stately  tread. 

1  Written  to  Miss  Genevieve  Ward,  during  her  visit  to  Florence,  by 
Buchanan  Read. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  41 


III. 


ONE  of  the  plainest  of  babies  was  the  little  Gene- 
vieve  Ward,  born  on  the  2  yth  of  the  blustering 
month  of  March,  on  Broadway,  New  York.  She  was 
a  very  dark  and  thin  little  creature,  with  a  wide  mouth, 
wrinkled  skin,  heavy  pencilled  eyebrows,  and  thick 
black  hair. 

But  a  few  months  wrought  a  great  change,  and  she 
was  being  carried  about  from  house  to  house  to  be 
admired ;  and  it  was  the  same  in  Havana,  whither 
Mrs.  Ward  went  when  Genevieve  was  nearly  two  years 
old. 

Sister  Teresa,  one  of  the  eighteen  nuns  of  the  con- 
vent of  the  Barefooted  Carmelites  of  Santa  Teresa,  — 
th«  richest  cloister  in  Spanish  dominions,  —  was  an 
old  friend  of  Mrs.  Ward's;  and,  the  fame  of  baby 
Genevieve's  beauty  having  reached  the  convent,  Sister 
Teresa  begged  to  be  permitted  to  show  the  child  to 
the  sisters.  So  Genevieve  and  her  little  brother  Rob- 
ert were  placed,  like  flowers  in  a  basket,  in  the  turn- 
wheel  chair  of  the  convent,  swung  within  its  walls,  and 
received  with  tender  welcome  by  the  gentle  nuns. 

Captivated  by  the  fair  skin  and  Oriental  eyes  of  the 
children,  who  were  exceedingly  unlike,  and  by  their 


42  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

fearless  smiles  and  prattling  graces,  the  nuns,  after 
having  baptized  them  in  the  chapel,  —  giving  to  Gene- 
vieve  the  name  of  Lucia  Genoveva  Teresa,  —  made 
them  presents  of  rosaries  of  pearls  and  gold ;  and  with 
these  around  their  necks  the  tiny  convent  guests  were 
returned  to  the  wicked  world,  "  saved,"  as  the  sisters 
said,  "  and  sure  of  everlasting  joy  !  " 

The  famous  cantatrice  Madame  Damoreau-Cinti, 
then  in  Cuba,  was  rehearsing  one  afternoon  in  her 
own  apartments.  Coming  to  a  pause,  she  was  sur- 
prised to  hear'her  strains  repeated  by  a  sweet  childish 
voice  in  an  adjoining  room.  This  continued  until  the 
cantatrice,  pleased  and  curious,  crossed  the  passage, 
and,  entering  Mrs.  Ward's  apartments,  saw  a  three  year 
old  baby  seated  in  the  middle  of  a  bed,  with  an  im- 
passioned expression  on  her  fair  little  face,  and  her 
mouth  still  round  and  open  with  the  last  notes. 

This  pretty  episode  led  to  an  acquaintance. 

"  If  this  goes  on,"  said  Madame  Damoreau  to  Mrs. 
Ward,  "  bring  her  to  me  by  and  by,  and  I  will  teach 
her  with  pleasure." 

When  Genevieve  had  completed  her  second  year, 
Mrs.  Ward  took  her  to  Italy ;  and  from  that  time  until 
she  was  fifteen,  they  travelled  back  and  forth  from 
place  to  place,  from  Texas  —  where  her  father  owned 
a  great  deal  of  land  since  lost  in  the  war  —  to  St. 
Petersburg.  Her  earliest  recollections  are  of  Paris, 
Rome,  and  Texas.  The  scent  of  a  certain  white  flower 
with  a  yellow  centre  (narcissus  ?)  always  brings  back 
to  her  the  very  look  of  the  Texan  prairies  where  they 
grew.  In  her  fifth  and  sixth  years  she  was  part  of  the 


GENEVtEVE    WARD.  43 

time  in  Texas,  studying  the  piano  under  a  German 
master,  and  riding  horses,  for  which  she  inherited  all 
the  family  love,  and  no  accident  or  danger  has  ever 
made  her  fear  or  distrust  them.  One  day  she  was 
riding  in  company  with  her  father's  cousin,  Col.  George 
Ward,  a  West  Point  officer.  Away  they  went  over 
the  Texan  prairies,  Genevieve  on  the  back  of  a  fiery 
little  mustang.  All  went  well,  till  they  turned  home- 
ward ;  but  her  horse  had  the  habit,  as  soon  as  it  saw 
the  stable,  of  running  for  it,  leaping,  hit  or  miss,  over 
gate,  fence,  or  any  obstacle  between. 

Fortunately  the  child  was  thrown  just  in  time  t<z 
escape  being  crushed  against  the  heavy  beam  of  the 
low  stable-doorway  as  the  horse  went  plunging  through 
it  to  his  manger.  Genevieve  was  badly  hit  in  the 
breast,  and  picked  up  insensible ;  but  in  the  very 
moment  of  returning  consciousness  she  besought  her 
cousin  to  say  nothing  of  the  adventure  to  her  parents, 
as  she  "liked  the  little  beast  too  well"  to  give  up  rid- 
ing him. 

It  was  owing  to  these  early  sojourns  in  different 
countries,  flitting  from  Paris  to  Italy,  from  Italy  to 
Cuba,  and  thence  to  Paris  again,  that  Genevieve 
acquired,  when  so  young,  not  only  a  knowledge  of 
the  French,  English,  Italian,  and  Spanish  tongues,  but 
an  accent  in  each  faultless  even  in  the  ears  of  natives. 

Their  old  family  nurse,  Madame  Cecile  Grisel,  a 
Swiss  by  birth,  accompanied  them  in  all  their  journey- 
ings.  She  was  a  large  and  powerful  woman,  a  Gitana 
in  person  and  habits,  with  something  of  the  nature  of 
Torfrida  in  her  proud  independence  and  uncurbed 


44  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

yet  reticent  temper.  She  seemed  of  no  particular 
nationality,  but  compounded  of  all ;  spoke  no  language 
exactly,  but  used  an  indescribable  melange  of  variable 
patois  everywhere  understood  by  the  body  of  the  peo- 
ple. She  was  their  cook,  nurse,  courier,  interpreter, 
confidante,  and  friend,  faithful  and  capable  in  all,  and, 
in  their  defence  from  all  forms  of  imposition,  equal  to 
a  regiment  of  Cossacks. 

Another  faithful  servant  was  Madame  Giguit,  the 
widow  of  a  French  physician.  She  lived  in  the  family 
of  Mrs.  Ward's  grandfather,  Major  Buffington,  then 
with  her  mother,  Laura  Buffington  Lee,  and  lastly  with 
Mrs.  Ward,  —  a  sufficient  indication  of  the  nobility  of 
the  service  she  rendered. 

During  one  of  Mrs.  Ward's  visits  to  Italy,  Genevieve, 
then  nine  years  old,  was  singing  Norma  by  herself  in  a 
garden  in  Rome.  An  artist  in  a  neighboring  studio, 
attracted  by  the  voice,  came  to  his  window,  and  was 
surprised  to  see  only  a  little  girl  picking  violets.  After 
looking  at  her  a  few  moments,  he  asked,  "  Will  you  let 
me  paint  you  as  a  little  angel  ?  "  Genevieve  shook 
her  head  promptly  in  disapproval ;  but,  giving  him  a 
second  look,  she  added  hesitatingly,  "Yes,  you  may — 
if  you  won't  put  any  wings  on  my  back :  they  -are  so 
ugly  except  on  birds." 

He  made  full-length  paintings  of  her,  twice.  Her 
conversation,  showing,  as  it  always  did,  a  quaint  blend- 
ing of  direct,  almost  abrupt,  good  sense,  and  sensitive 
artistic  instinct,  tempted  him  to  ask  her  all  sorts  of 
questions,  for  the  sake  of  her  answers ;  and  once,  when 
he  asked  her  if  she  would  have  him  for  her  husband 


GENE  VIE  VE    WARD.  45 

when  she  grew  up,  he  was  plumply  rejected  in  these 
candid  words,  — 

"  Oh,  no,  indeed  !  You'll  be  old  and  wrinkled  then, 
and  I  like  only  beautiful  people  ! " 

This  gentleman  was  the  late  talented  Marquis  of 
Northampton,  then  Lord  Compton.  She  was  at  this 
time  making  great  progress  on  the  piano,  under  the 
tuition  of  the  organist  of  St.  Peter's. 

At  the  age  of  thirteen,  when  she  was  visiting  in  New 
York  with  her  mother,  she  was  introduced  to  Mme. 
Sontag.  The  famous  songstress  looked  at  the  little 
girl  with  an  expression  of  reverence. 

"  Mein  Gott  in  Himmel!"  she  cried,  bending  over 
her  caressingly,  "  how  beautiful  you  are  !  Will  you  let 
me  kiss  you,  my  child?" 

Genevieve  sang  to  her;  and  she  took  at  once  a 
warm  interest  in  her  future  as  a  singer,  advised  her  as 
to  the  right  steps  and  methods,  and  wrote  to  Rossini 
about  her ;  so  that  when  Genevieve  in  her  fifteenth 
year,  and  again  in  Italy,  went  to  Florence  to  see  this 
great  maestro,  he  was  so  pleased  with  her  beauty,  and 
her  noble  voice,  unformed  though  it  was,  he  took 
her  musical  education  under  his  protection,  procured 
her  lessons  under  Ronzi,  then  director  of  the  opera  in 
Florence,  and  at  a  later  date,  that  he  might  watch 
over  her  progress,  he  arranged  for  her  to  sing  to  him 
twice  a  week,  and  named  her  Rossini's  "piccolo, 
consolazione" 

In  her  sixteenth  year  Genevieve  Ward  had  grown 
into  a  maturity  and  beauty  of  the  most  striking  kind, 
as  the  bust  made  of  her  at  this  period  by  Joel  T.  Hart 


46  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

testifies :  no  one  would  naturally  suppose  it  represented 
the  features  or  expression  of  a  woman  under  twenty- 
five. 

One  day  when  accompanying  her  mother  on  a  little 
journey  in  the  South  of  Italy,  they  received  much 
attention  from  a  gentleman,  a  short  time  their  travel- 
ling companion,  whom  they  soon  after  met  again  in 
Nice,  where  Miss  Ward  was  as  much  admired  and 
sought  for  her  fine  voice,  graceful  manners,  and  un- 
usual linguistic  accomplishments,  as  for  her  beauty; 
and  where  he  was  cordially  received  by  society  as  the 
young  Russian  nobleman,  Constantine  de  Guerbel, 
bearer,  it  was  reported,  of  important  Russian  de- 
spatches, and,  beyond  question,  one  of  the  handsomest 
men  in  Europe. 

He  was  exceedingly  clever,  and  had  the  art  of 
impressing  himself  upon  others  to  precisely  the  effect 
and  degree  that  he  wished. 

He  hovered  around  the  beautiful  American  girl, 
paying  to  her  and  to  her  mother  the  most  delicate 
and  winning  tribute.  It  was  impossible  that  he  should 
not  please ;  and  he  soon  made  an  offer  of  marriage,  by 
letter.  Mrs.  Ward  consulted  with  her  friends  ;  and  it 
was  decided  that  letters  of  investigation  should  be 
addressed  to  Gov.  Seymour  (of  Connecticut),  a  dis- 
tant connection  of  the  Wards,  who  was  then  United- 
States  minister  to  Russia. 

The  replies  came  that  Count  and  Captain  Constan- 
tine de  Guerbel  was  a  most  accomplished  member  of 
an  old  Russian  family,  influential  with  the  Czar,  an  offi- 
cer of  the  Czarina's  guards,  and  that  no  unfavorable 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  47 

rumors  were  connected  with  his  name.  Meantime 
de  Guerbel  was  ardently  pressing  his  suit ;  and,  shortly 
after  the  arrival  of  these  fair  accounts  from  Russia, 
they  were  married  in  the  American  fashion,  by  civil 
contract  before  the  consul  with  witnesses,  Constantine 
especially  desiring  it  out  of  compliment,  as  he  said, 
to  the  nationality  of  his  charming  bride. 

As  there  was  no  Greek  Church,  either  in  Nice  or 
Turin,  the  ceremony  which  alone  could  make  their 
marriage  binding  with  him  could  not  be  solemnized ; 
and  Constantine,  with  every  apparent  eagerness,  agreed 
that  they  should  all  hasten  to  Paris,  where  the  Greek 
ceremony  could  be  performed,  and  his  happiness  com- 
pleted. 

Genevieve  was  too  inexperienced  to  feel  any  dis- 
turbing suspicion  of  her  brilliant  and  devoted  lover : 
but  Mrs.  Ward  was  already  tortured  with  doubts ;  she 
had  received  private  intimation  that  the  young  Russian 
needed  looking  after. 

She  sought  an  interview  with  the  Russian  ambas- 
sador at  Turin ;  but  by  mistake  she  was  directed  to 
the  German  ambassador,  who,  on  hearing  her  account 
of  the  affair,  assured  her  that  there  must  be  something 
wrong  about  the  young  man,  as  he  could  not  marry 
without  first  having  obtained  the  consent  of  his  supe- 
rior officer,  and  without  the  observance  of  certain  other 
formalities. 

Hastening  back  to  the  hotel,  Mrs.  Ward  confronted 
de  Guerbel  with  indignant  reproaches.  He  faced  the 
matter  at  first  with  some  hardihood,  but  when  Mrs. 
Ward  stopped  him  with  the  words,  — 


48  GENE  VIE  VE    WARD. 

"  It's  too  late  for  all  this.  I  know  you  now,  and 
you  shall  never  see  my  daughter  again  ! "  he  fell  into 
a  rage,  and  treated  her  rudely. 

After  this,  he  avoided  Mrs.  Ward,  but  made  every 
opportunity  for  interviews  with  Genevieve,  and,  while 
expressing  great  readiness  to  be  bound  by  the  Greek 
Church  rites,  endeavored  to  persuade  her  that  she  was 
quite  sufficiently  his  wife  to  go  away  with  him  until 
that  formality  could  be  observed.  Fortunately  Gene- 
vieve trusted  absolutely  in  her  mother,  and,  though 
tenderly  loving  the  man  to  whom  she  was  half-married, 
would  consent  to  no  step  not  first  approved  by  her. 

Foiled  by  this  happy  confidence  between  mother 
and  child,  but  not  in  the  least  abashed,  de  Guerbel 
visited  the  same  German  ambassador  —  then  acting  for 
the  Russian  government  —  who  had  warned  Mrs.  Ward 
of  the  doubtfulness  of  the  young  Russian's  proceed- 
ings, and  in  a  few  moments  had  so  successfully  exerted 
his  marvellous  personal  fascinations  that  the  ambas- 
sador became  his  admiring  advocate,  and  was  for  the 
time  quite  turned  from  his  sympathy  with  the  Wards. 
And  this  magic  spell  was  exercised  in  spite  of  the 
ambassador's  certain  knowledge  that  some  of  de 
Guerbel's  pretensions  were  baseless,  notably  that  of 
his  being  intrusted  with  special  despatches ;  for,  had 
this  been  true,  the  ambassador  must  have  been  offi- 
cially notified  of  it. 

\Yith  matters  in  this  unsatisfactory  state,  the  two 
parties  set  out  for  Paris.  Mrs.  Ward,  on  the  truthful 
plea  that  water  travel  made  her  very  ill,  insisted  on 
going  by  land ;  de  Guerbel  was  equally  resolute  for  a 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  49 

trip  by  water.  The  mother  and  daughter  reached 
Paris  first,  where  they  again  met  with  the  cantatrice 
Madame  Damoreau,  whose  singing  had  been  so  pret- 
tily imitated  by  the  baby  Genevieve,  in  Cuba. 

She  recalled  her  promise,  and  at  once  received  the 
young  girl  into  her  class  in  the  Conservatoire  ;  but, 
the  system  being  necessarily  adapted  to  a  medium 
grade  of  talent,  requiring  years  for  the  completion  of 
its  course,  Genevieve  retired  from  the  class  to  proceed 
more  rapidly  as  Mme.  Damoreau's  private  pupil. 

Meantime  came  the  season  of  Lent,  during  which 
the  Greek  Church  ceremony  could  not  be  performed ; 
and  with  it  the  tardy  bridegroom,  delayed,  as  he  said, 
by  adverse  winds  and  opposing  currents. 

De  Guerbel  behaved,  however,  with  so  much  amia- 
bility, and  with  such  an  inimitable  assumption  of  being 
the  aggrieved  party,  that  everybody  was  quite  won 
over  to  his  side,  and  even  Mrs.  Ward  was  influenced, 
against  her  well-founded  objections,  to  receive  him 
with  something  like  a  return  of  favor;  of  all  which 
effect  he  availed  himself  to  try  again,  and  as  vainly  as 
before,  to  induce  Genevieve  to  go  away  with  him 
secretly. 

Mrs.  Ward's  youngest  son,  Robert,  the  same  who 
was  baptized  with  Genevieve  by  the  Carmelite  nuns  in 
the  Cuban  convent,  was  staying  with  his  mother  and 
sister  in  Paris,  and  used  to  be  even  more  with  the  fas- 
cinating Russian  at  his  hotel  than  with  Mrs.  Ward  and 
Genevieve  at  theirs ;  for  de  Guerbel  had  done  all  in 
his  power  to  attach  the  handsome  and  enthusiastic 
boy  to  his  interests.  So  it  happened  that  Robert  Ward 


50  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

was  with  de  Guerbel  in  his  bedroom  one  morning, 
when  an  officer  entered,  and  arrested  him  as  he  lay  in 
bed,  —  for  some  offence  to  the  Czar,  as  it  was  after- 
ward rumored  ;  large  quantities  of  blank  passports  were 
found  in  his  possession,  and  he  was  put  beyond  the 
frontier. 

Some  months  of  total  ignorance  as  to  de  Guerbel's 
whereabouts  or  movements  passed  away.  Genevieve's 
spirits,  and  even  her  health,  had  suffered  from  the 
strain  of  a  position  so  anomalous  and  painful. 

While  this  was  the  situation  in  Paris,  an  old  friend 
of  the  Wards,  M.  de  Bois  le  Comte,  late  French  min- 
ister to  Washington,  arrived  in  Italy  on  a  visit  to  his 
daughter,  the  wife  of  M.  de  Soulange,  charge  d'affaires 
at  Naples.  One  day,  when  walking  out,  M.  de  Bois 
le  Comte  met  the  Countess  Schakoshkine,  wife  of  the 
Russian  ambassador,  who,  after  the  usual  words  of 
greeting,  exclaimed,  — 

"  Wish  me  joy,  for  my  daughter  is  going  to  make  a 
great  marriage." 

"Indeed  !  to  whom?" 

"  To  Lieut,  de  Guerbel." 

"Which  one?"  cried  M.  de  Bois  le  Comte,  elec- 
trified. 

"  To  Constantine,  of  course ;  the  handsomest  and 
noblest  young  man  in  the  courts  of  Europe." 

"  But  Constantine  !  why,  he  is  already  married  ! " 

"Oh,  nothing  of  the  kind,"  said  the  countess  indig- 
nantly. "  We  know  all  about  that  trumped-up  story." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  persisted  de  Bois  le  Comte, 
very  gravely;  " but  I,  myself,  put  the  young  girl  —  she 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  51 

was  Miss  Genevieve  Ward  —  into  the  train,  to  go  to 
Russia,  to  look  into  her  husband's  affairs." 

"  It  cannot  be  !  "  murmured  the  countess,  pale,  and 
deeply  disturbed  ;  "  it  must  be  some  American  trick." 

He  assured  her  that  it  was  indeed  true,  and  that  the 
young  lady  had  actually  gone  with  her  mother  to  Rus- 
sia, to  ask  the  Czar  to  have  the  marriage  made  null 
and  void. 

Countess  Schakoshkine  hurried  to  her  husband  with 
these  terrible  tidings  ;  but,  before  the  latter  could  reach 
either  the  police  or  Constantine,  that  dazzling  scape- 
grace was  far  away  in  his  yacht,  leaving  a  hundred 
thousand  francs  of  debts  behind  him. 

His  personal  gifts  had  served  him  well;  he  had 
enjoyed  the  admiration  and  the  confidence  of  the 
cleverest  and  best;  he  had  been  entertained  by  the 
royal  family :  but  the  es.clandre  was  complete ;  and 
another  young  American  girl,  lovely  and  trusting,  to 
whom  he  had  engaged  himself  in  Nice,  lay  dying  for 
his  sake,  of  a  broken  heart,  in  the  midst  of  prepara- 
tions for  her  wedding  with  him. 

This  at  Nice  and  Naples  ;  while  in  Paris,  after  due 
waiting,  by  the  advice  of  our  London  and  Paris  minis- 
ters, both  friends  of  Mrs.  Ward,  and  of  Baron  Brun- 
now,  Genevieve,  with  her  mother  and  brother,  had 
actually  set  out  for  Russia  in  the  bitter  midwinter  cold, 
to  seek  justice  at  the  hands  of  the  autocrat. 

Papers,  letters,  and  other  documents  concerning 
the  case  had  been  previously  intrusted  to  a  member  of 
our  legation,  on  his  representation  that  he  could  use 
them  advantageously  in  seeking  Gov.  Seymour's  and 


52  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

the  Czar's  interest  in  Genevieve's  claims.  Wishing  to 
take  these  papers  to  Russia  with  them,  they  asked  for 
them  back,  and  were  refused ;  but  when  Gen.  John  A. 
Dix  arrived  in  Paris,  his  concise  message  to  the  gen- 
tleman brought  back  the  papers  at  once. 

Being  by  this  partial  marriage  with  de  Guerbel  put 
in  the  singular  position  of  being  neither  an  American 
nor  Russian,  Genevieve  could  not  obtain  a  passport 
from  either  the  American  or  Russian  legations ;  and 
the  difficulty  was  overcome  by  her  going  on  her 
brother  Robert's  passport,  he  having  been  made  bearer 
of  despatches  for  the  purpose. 

The  journey  was  not  only  attended  with  great  dis- 
comfort, but  with  various  kinds  of  danger.  From 
Konigsberg  to  Riga  they  travelled  in  the  intense  cold 
in  open  boxes  on  runners,  from  which  they  had  to 
change  every  two  hours,  so  that  they  barely  began  to 
get  warm  in  one  of  these  boxes,  before  it  was  neces- 
sary to  step  out  into  the  snow,  and  climb  into  another. 
On  the  second  day  after  leaving  Riga,  where  they  had 
obtained  a  carriage,  they  encountered  a  long  train  of 
sledges  laden  with  iron  bars  from  the  immense  foun- 
deries  of  Russia.  By  Russian  law  a  private  convey- 
ance has  the  right  of  way. 

The  driver  of  the  first  sledge  was  not  on  hand : 
Mrs.  Ward's  coachman  therefore  touched  the  horses 
with  his  whip  to  turn  them  aside.  They  reared  and 
backed,  and  the  heavily  laden  sledge  was  upset.  The 
serf  driver  heard  the  hubbub,  and,  running  up  just  in 
time  to  witness  the  disaster,  flew  at  Robert  Ward, 
flourishing  his  whip.  Other  peasants  ran  up,  and, 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  53 

joining  with  the  sledge-driver,  upset  the  carriage  of 
the  Wards.  Robert  helped  up  the  coachman,  and 
drew  a  revolver.  At  this  truly  critical  moment  the 
sergeant  of  cavalry  in  command  of  the  sledge-train 
galloped  forward,  and  cut  down  the  serf  driver,  and 
assisted  the  ladies  out  of  the  upset  vehicle.  The  most 
abject  submission,  instantly  on  the  sergeant's  appear- 
ance, fell  upon  the  group  of  peasants,  who  fairly  tum- 
bled over  each  other  in  their  eagerness  to  set  the 
carriage  straight  and  assist  the  Wards  into  it. 

On  reaching  St.  Petersburg  they  were  most  kindly 
received  at  the  American  embassy  by  Minister  Sey- 
mour, who  already  knew  not  only  from  themselves,  but 
from  Baron  Brunnow  and  the  London  and  Paris  min- 
isters, of  the  conduct  of  de  Guerbel.  After  consulta- 
tion, Minister  Seymour  advised  their  remaining  quiet 
at  the  embassy  as  his  guests,  and  not  at  once  petition- 
ing the  Czar.  Meantime  balls,  receptions,  and  parties 
should  be  prepared  for  Genevieve's  introduction  to  the 
society  of  the  Russian  capital,  where  her  youth,  beauty, 
genius,  and  noble  accomplishments  would  create  for 
her  a  public  as  well  as  personal  sentiment,  of  great 
advantage  when  her  real  purpose  in  visiting  the  city 
should  be  developed. 

But  in  the  very  beginning  of  this  programme  a  grave 
difficulty  arose. 

On  hearing  the  name  of  Madame  Constantine  de 
Guerbel,  the  chief  of  police,  Gen.  Dubbelt,  declared 
there  was  no  such  person,  and  that  the  lady  who  had 
ventured  to  assume  that  name  must  leave  Russ'a 
within  three  days. 


54  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

All  was  consternation  at  the  embassy ;  but  then,  as 
always  when  wisdom,  skill,  and  instant  executive  power 
were  needed,  the  mother  came  forward.  Well  in- 
formed in  political  affairs,  this  brave  and  keen-witted 
woman  knew  that  Russia,  at  that  date,  did  not  need 
any  more  trouble  on  her  hands. 

"  Come  with  me,"  she  said  to  Minister  Seymour : 
"  I  have  something  to  say  to  the  chief  of  police." 

Minister  Seymour  went  with  her,  and  presented  her 
to  Gen.  Dubbelt  as  being  with  her  daughter  under  his 
protection.  Gen.  Dubbelt  listened  to  Mrs.  Ward's 
statement  without  credence,  reiterating  that  they  must 
leave  Russia  immediately.  Seymour  looked  exceed- 
ingly distressed,  feeling  that  the  time  was  too  short  for 
any  hopeful  action  or  decision. 

"Then,"  said  Mrs.  Ward,  looking  full  at  Gen.  Dub- 
belt, "  it  is  time  for  me  to  say,  that,  since  the  simple 
plea  of  an  unprotected  stranger  does  not  avail,  I  must 
assure  you  that  this  is  not  what  you  think.  It  is  a 
national,  an  international,  affair.  My  daughter  is  of 
an  old  American  family,  and  has  both  friends  and  rela- 
tives in  positions  of  influence  with  our  government, 
who  will  not  be  inactive  in  her  behalf.  According  to 
American  law,  she  is  Madame  Constantine  de  Guerbel, 
and  has  an  undoubted  right  to  visit  St.  Petersburg 
under  that  name." 

The  dignity  and  gravity  of  Mrs.  Ward's  words  and 
manner  impressed  Gen.  Dubbelt ;  and  he  made  answer, 
after  a  few  moments'  thoughtful  silence,  that  he  would 
think  it  all  over,  and  see  what  could  be  done ;  and 
permission  was  soon  received  for  Madame  Constantine 
de  Guerbel  to  remain  at  the  embassy. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  55 

Soon  after,  Gen.  Sabouroff,  brother  of  the  grand 
chamberlain,  gave  a  grand  ball  at  which  Madame  de 
Guerbel  appeared.  Count  Kamaroffski,  own  cousin 
of  Constantine  de  Guerbel,  was  present ;  and,  pointing 
her  out  among  the  dancers,  said  to  a  friend,  — 

"There  is  a  most  wonderful  girl  here  to-night, 
beautiful  and  fresh  as  a  damask  rose.  Where  can  she 
have  come  from?  Who  can  she  be?" 

The  friend,  who  was  informed,  replied  with  a 
smile,  —  "Do  you  not  know?  She  is  Madame  Con- 
stantine de  Guerbel ! " 

"  What  do  you  tell  me  !  "  cried  Kamaroffski,  "  but 
Kostia's '  not  married  ? "  and  he  hurried  away  from 
the  scene  in  search  of  Gen.  Daniel  de  Guerbel,  the 
elder  brother  of  Constantine,  to  whom,  when  he  had 
found  him,  he  excitedly  exclaimed,  — 

"Well,  have  you  heard  the  latest  sensation?  Kos- 
tia's wife  —  his  wife  —  a  most  beautiful  young  Ameri- 
can girl,  is  at  Sabouroffs  ball,  turning  everybody's 
head  ! " 

"  Pshaw  !  That's  only  the  hundredth  story  of  the 
kind  ! "  But  the  next  day  Gen.  Daniel  de  Guerbel 
called  at  the  embassy  to  inquire  into  the  startling 
rumors. 

Minister  Seymour  received  him,  and  told  him  the 
whole  story,  and  presented  him  to  Mrs.  Ward  and  her 
daughter.  Gen.  de  Guerbel  behaved  admirably,  ex- 
pressing to  Genevieve  his  regret  that  she  should  have 
ever  met  his  scapegrace  brother,  at  the  same  time 
acknowledging  her  as  his  sister-in-law  in  a  very  grace- 
ful manner. 

1  Kostia,  familiar  diminutive  of  Constantine. 


56  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

He  did  not,  however,  conceal  his  hope,  that,  since 
it  was  evident  she  could  neither  love  nor  wish  to  live 
with  Constantine,  she  might,  for  the  sake  of  protect- 
ing an  old  and  noble  family  from  public  scandal,  be 
induced  to  forego  her  original  design  in  coming  to 
Russia.  She  would  certainly  receive  brilliant  offers, 
and  could  make  a  marriage  equal  to  the  highest 
ambition. 

But  Madame  de  Guerbel  could  not  consider  things 
in  this  light.  She  explained  to  him  that  she  was  a  wife 
in  American  law ;  that  she  and  her  mother  had  been 
abused  and  maligned  by  Constantine  in  the  most 
active,  ingenious,  and  unscrupulous  ways.  He  had 
everywhere  used,  and  was  still  using,  his  irresistible 
personal  fascinations  to  destroy  their  claims  to  consid- 
eration. He  had  avowed  that  the  story  of  the  American 
marriage  ceremony  was  a  pure  fabrication ;  that  Mrs. 
Ward  was  not  even  Genevieve's  mother,  but  a  clever 
woman  of  equivocal  social  standing,  who  had  secured 
control  of  the  young  girl's  fate  in  order  to  rise  to  rank 
and  wealth  by  means  of  her  great  beauty ;  and  that, 
with  this  in  view,  they  had  planned  the  bold  scheme 
of  the  St.  Petersburg  visit.  Thus  Gen.  de  Guerbel 
could  see  that  it  was  not  only  for  the  sake  of  having 
her  marriage  sanctioned  by  the  Greek  Church  cere- 
mony that  they  had  come,  but  because  nothing  short 
of  that  could  successfully  refute  calumnies  so  artfully 
and  ably  disseminated. 

The  dignity  and  courage  of  the  young  girl  charmed 
Gen.  Daniel  de  Guerbel,  who  from  that  moment  for- 
bore to  press  any  consideration  touching  the  feelings 


GENE VI EVE    WARD.  57 

of  his  family,  and  treated  Madame  de  Guerbel  and  her 
mother  with  unvarying  kindness  and  distinction.  On 
one  occasion  during  a  grand  f£te  at  Pavloffski,  the 
summer  residence  of  the  Czar,  Madame  de  Guerbel, 
leaning  on  the  arm  of  her  brother-in-law  Gen.  Daniel 
de  Guerbel,  passed  along  the  principal  promenade  in 
front  of  the  Grand  Duke  Constantine's  party.  The 
grand  duchess  called  the  general  aside,  and  asked  with 
much  interest,  — 

"Who  is  that  beautiful  girl  with  you?  " 

To  which  he  replied  so  that  Genevieve  could  hear 
it,  "  My  brother  Constantine's  wife." 

The  de  Guerbels  were  originally  a  noble  Swiss 
family,  who  went  over  from  Switzerland  to  Peter  the 
Great ;  the  first  of  the  family  being  an  admiral.  Con- 
stantine's father  was  a  general  aide-de-camp  to  the 
late  Czar,  his  uncle  Prince  Koudascheff  was  court 
chamberlain,  and  he  himself  an  officer  in  the  late 
Czarina's  guards.  His  mother,  the  Princess  Kouda- 
scheff, was  the  most  beautiful  woman  at  the  court  of 
Nicholas,  where  the  whole  family  were  in  high  favor. 

It  will  be  seen  that  patience,  courage,  and  never- 
failing  tact  were  necessary  to  the  situation  in  which 
the  Wards  were  placed,  in  a  strange  land  with  a  pur- 
pose certain  to  be  felt  as  at  variance  with  its  strictest 
social  precedents  and  prejudices ;  and,  had  these  qual- 
ities not  been  possessed  in  a  remarkable  degree  by 
every  one  concerned,  the  sequel  must  have  been  very 
different. 

The  weeks  flew  by.  Madame  de  Guerbel  pursued 
her  musical  studies  with  Rubini's  nephew.  Rubini 


58  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

Gallinari ;  her  voice,  her  lovely  manners,  her  exqui- 
sitely tasteful  simplicity  of  dress,  and  the  romantic 
mystery  in  which  she  was  involved,  made  the  lovely 
young  American  the  talk  of  the  capital ;  but,  so  far  as 
her  real  object  was  concerned,  things  seemed  painfully 
at  a  stand-still,  when  suddenly  the  court  minister,  Count 
Adlerberg,  called  on  the  American  minister. 

When  he  was  announced,  Gov.  Seymour  with  agita- 
tion said  quickly  to  Mrs.  Ward,  — 

"  Now  is  your  chance.  Lay  the  whole  matter 
before  him." 

Count  Adlerberg  listened  to  them  with  attention  and 
apparent  interest,  but  said  nothing  to  sensibly  relieve 
their  suspense  in  having  taken  the  initiative  step  on 
which  so  much  must  depend.  But  on  a  Saturday 
soon  after  Count  Adlerberg's  visit,  an  aide-de-camp 
was  ushered  in  at  the  embassy,  who  approached  Mrs. 
Ward,  and  asked,  — 

"When  can  Madame  Constantine  de  Guerbel  re- 
ceive Prince  Dolgorouki  ?  " 

Mrs.  Ward  observed  a  change  in  Minister  Seymour's 
face  :  she  pointed  to  her  daughter,  — 

"  That  is  Madame  de  Guerbel." 

Genevieve,  instantly  conscious  by  the  manner  of  the 
others  that  the  moment  was  one  of  great  import  in  her 
affairs,  cleverly  replied,  — 

"  Prince  Dolgorouki's  hour  shall  be  mine." 

As  soon  as  the  aide-de-camp  was  gone  they  both 
said  in  a  breath  to  Gov.  Seymour,  — 

"  We  saw  how  your  face  changed.  What  does  this 
mean?" 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  59 

"  It  means  that  something  must  indeed  be  transpir- 
ing in  your  affairs ;  for  Prince  Dolgorouki  is  a  very 
great  personage,  the  nearest  to  the  Czar,  and  such  a 
thing  as  his  coming  here  to  call  on  a  private  individ- 
ual was  never  before  heard  of." 

On  the  next  Wednesday,  as  they  sat  around  the 
table,  Prince  Dolgorouki  came  in.  He  was  a  beauti- 
ful old  man.  He  walked  up  to  Madame  de  Guerbel, 
who  had  become  exceedingly  pale,  and,  laying  his 
hand  kindly  on  her  head,  said,  — 

"Well,  my  little  girl,  tell  me  all  about  it." 

They  had  just  received  a  letter  from  M.  de  Bois  le 
Comte,  describing  Constantine's  conduct  in  Naples, 
his  false  engagements  to  the  dying  American  girl,  and 
to  the  daughter  of  Countess  Schakoshkine,  and  of  his 
flight  and  debts. 

"  You  know  of  M.  de  Bois  le  Comte,"  said  Madame 
de  Guerbel,  handing  the  letter  to  Prince  Dolgorouki. 
"Will  you  read  this?" 

"Yes,  he's  a  sad  good-for-nothing,"  said  Prince 
Dolgorouki,  after  reading  and  returning  the  letter; 
"  and  I'm  very  sorry  you  ever  met  him,  my  little  girl ; 
but  what  is  it,  the  Czar  asks,  that  you  now  wish  to  have 
done?" 

"Tell  the  good  Czar,"  said  Madame  de  Guerbel, 
with  much  emotion,  "  that  I  wish  to  have  my  marriage 
sanctioned  by  the  Greek  Church,  so  that  as  a  true 
marriage  I  may  contest  it,  and  obtain  a  1  divorce,  and 
be  honorably  free  from  this  man." 

"Well,"  replied  the  Prince,  smiling  very  kindly  on 

1  All  this  is  in  Russian  archives. 


60  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

her,  "  I  will  tell  the  Czar  exactly  what  you  say,  and 
we'll  see ;  in  the  mean  time  have  courage." 

Their  suspense  was  now  the  greater  for  the  hopes 
of  success  they  could  not  but  feel  from  Prince  Dolgo- 
rouki's  visit.  In  a  few  days  he  came  again,  and  told 
them  that  the  Czar  had  said  it  was  not  in  his  power, 
as  head  of  the  Church,  to  recognize  the  marriage  as  it 
now  stood,  nor  in  his  power  to  dissolve  it ;  but  if  she 
desired  it  he  would  send  out  a  special  ukase  for  Con- 
stantine's  return  to  Russia,  and  insist  on  the  perform- 
ance of  the  Greek  ceremony. 

Madame  de  Guerbel  expressed  the  deepest  gratitude 
for  the  Czar's  kindness. 

"  But  when  this  is  done,"  she  added,  "  I  wish  it 
understood  that  I  will  never  live  with  Count  de  Guer- 
bel. He  has  endeavored  to  degrade  us  in  everybody's 
eyes ;  and  I  cannot  indorse  his  calumnies  by  living 
with  him.  Will  you  tell  this  to  the  Czar?  " 

Without  making  any  direct  reply  to  this  burst  of 
feeling,  Prince  Dolgorouki  explained  to  them  that 
their  next  step,  in  the  Czar's  opinion,  was  to  go  to 
Warsaw,  and  there  await  his  majesty's  further  direc- 
tions ;  and  then  bade  them  a  kind  farewell. 

As  according  to  Russian  law  she  would  be  under 
obligation  to  live  with  "her  husband  for  two  years 
before  seeking  a  divorce,  the  Czar's  silence  relative  to 
her  determination  to  leave  Count  de  Guerbel  at  the 
altar  immediately  after  the  ceremony  gave  her  painful 
uncertainty  as  to  the  final  result  of  all  their  trouble. 

They  lived  opposite  one  side  of  the  palace ;  and, 
knowing  that  the  Czar  and  Czarina  were  about  to 
leave  the  city,  the  anxious  girl  said,  — 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  6 1 

"  Let's  get  up  early,  mother :  we  may  see  the  de- 
parture." 

So,  looking  from  their  windows  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, they  saw  the  royal  family  in  an  open  barouche, 
and  the  Czar  leaning  forward  to  arrange  his  son's 
necktie. 

At  the  same  moment,  as  if  recollecting  that  he  was 
near  the  American  embassy,  he  looked  up  and  saw 
Genevieve  and  her  mother  at  their  window.  He 
smiled,  and  waved  his  hand  to  them  in  friendly  recog- 
nition. 

This  little  omen  quieted  their  fears.  "  It's  all  right, 
I  know  it,  I  feel  it,"  they  said  to  each  other,  and  made 
ready  for  their  journey  to  Warsaw. 

It  has  been  said  that  Miss  Ward  gained  admission 
to  the  Czar,  and,  throwing  herself  at  his  feet,  implored 
him  to  see  her  honor  vindicated  by  the  Greek  Church 
sanction  of  her  union  with  de  Guerbel.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  the  occasion  just  mentioned,  Miss  Ward 
never  saw  the  Czar  but  once,  and  that  was  soon  after 
their  arrival  in  St.  Petersburg.  They  went  out  walking 
together,  accompanied  by  their  dogs,  a  King  Charles 
and  a  Blenheim  spaniel.  Having  heard  absurd  stories 
that  Russians  were  hereditary  dog-thieves  to  a  man, 
they  were  anxious  at  the  notice  their  pets  seemed  to 
attract,  particularly  at  that  of  a  Russian  officer  driving 
in  a  droshky  without  ornaments  or  trappings.  The 
horse  was  jet  black,  and  very  handsome  ;  and  the  har- 
ness as  well  as  the  dress  of  the  officer,  though  simple, 
were  elegant.  This  officer  looked  at  them  in  such  a 
way  as  he  drove  by,  they  were  quite  sure  the  dogs 
were  the  cause  of  his  observation. 


62  -GENEVIEVE    WARD, 

Three  times  they  met  this  droshky,  and  the  last  time 
the  officer  bowed  and  smiled  from  out  his  muffling 
furs. 

Puzzled  and  annoyed,  they  acknowledged  his  salu- 
tation reservedly,  but  seeing  an  officer  who  stood  near 
them  uncover  with  great  reverence  to  the  inmate  of  the 
droshky,  and  observing  also  that  several  ladies  of  high 
position  made  haste  to  throw  up  their  '  veils  as  he  ap- 
proached, they  made  inquiry,  and,  to  their  confusion, 
found  it  was  the  Czar  himself  whom  they  had  been 
regarding  as  a  probable  dog-thief ! 

On  arriving  in  Warsaw,  the  Wards  found  that  Prince 
Gortschakoff,  brother  of  the  present  vice-chancellor, 
had  received  full  orders  from  the  Czar,  and  a  special 
ukase  had  been  sent  to  each  Russian  ambassador  for 
the  apprehension  of  Constantine  de  Guerbel. 

Meantime  a  new  complication  arose  in  Paris.  Mad- 
ame de  Guerbel's  father,  Col.  Ward,  had  reached  that 
city  on  his  way  to  them.  Soon  after  being  shown  to 
his  apartment,  he  was  waited  upon  by  Constantine  de 
Guerbel,  who,  first  expressing  in  the  most  graceful 
terms  his  joy  at  meeting  the  honored  father  of  his 
beautiful  wife,  assured  him  that  it  was  all  a  misunder- 
standing, he  had  been  basely  misrepresented,  and  de- 
clared himself  ready  and  eager  to  do  any  thing  a  father 
could  ask  to  prove  the  sincerity  of  his  assertions,  — 
provided  only  that  Col.  Ward  would  telegraph  for 
Madame  de  Guerbel  to  return  to  Paris,  which  Col. 
Ward,  quite  convinced  by  and  delighted  with  his  son- 
in-law,  forthwith  promised  to  do. 

1  In  Russia  the  poor  people  kneel,  wherever  they  may  be,  when  the  Czar 
appears;  and  the  nobility  make  profound  obeisance,  ladies  raising  their  veils. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  63 

The  very  next  day  Baron  Brunnow  arrived  in  Paris, 
and,  calling  also  on  Col.  Ward,  speedily  learned  the 
clever  trick  of  Constantine,  and  enlightened  Col.  Ward 
as  to  the  true  character  of  his  fascinating  son-in-law. 
Yet  so  great  had  been  the  impression  made  by  him 
upon  Col.  Ward,  he  was  still  inclined  to  think  some 
explanation  possible  ;  and,  though  when  a  member  of 
the  Russian  embassy  served  the  imperial  ukase  upon 
de  Guerbel,  he  raged,  and  cursed  the  Czar  and  Russia 
and  every  thing  and  body  else  with  violent  impartiality, 
he  had  the  power  to  induce  Col.  Ward  to  fulfil  his 
promise  of  the  previous  day,  and  telegraph  to  his  wife 
and  daughter  to  come  to  Paris. 

The  response  signed  by  Mrs.  Ward  and  Genevieve 
came  as  follows  :  — 

"  We  have  passed  our  word  to  the  Czar :  let  Constantine 
obey  the  Czar  also." 

Three  times  Col.  Ward  was  induced  to  telegraph, 
but  Mrs.  Ward  held  firm.  Then  Constantine  begged 
Col.  Ward  to  go  to  Warsaw  and  see  Prince  Gortscha- 
koff,  and  find  out  if  it  were  the  imperial  intention  to 
punish  Constantine  in  any  way  if  he  obeyed  the  ukase. 
If  he  were  not  to  be  punished,  Col.  .Ward  was  to  tele- 
graph for  him,  and  he  would  come. 

Col.  Ward  hurried  off  to  Warsaw ;  and,  on  being  as- 
sured by  Prince  Gortschakoff  that  no  orders  had  been 
received  for  Constantine 's  arrest,  he  telegraphed  to 
the  latter  as  agreed. 

Therefore,  on  a  Saturday  when  Mrs.  Ward  and  her 
daughter  had  been  some  months  in  Warsaw,  the 


64  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

recreant  de  Guerbel  arrived,  and  at  once  sent  a  note 
to  Madame  de  Guerbel,  in  which,  for  the  first  time,  he 
called  her  his  wife,  and  signed  himself  "  your  affection- 
ate husband,  Constantine  de  Guerbel." 

He  had  habitually  spoken  of  her  everywhere  mock- 
ingly as  "  Miss  Genevieve." 

This  letter  was  despatched  immediately  to  the  Czar 
as  affording  positive  proof  of  the  verity  of  their  claims. 
The  next  day  de  Guerbel  had  a  stormy  interview  with 
her  parents,  protesting  with  astounding  effrontery 
against  the  proceedings  as  summary  and  unfair;  at 
the  same  time  affecting  pleasure  at  the  prospect  of 
meeting  his  wife  again. 

In  the  afternoon  he  was  received  by  Madame  de 
Guerbel  in  her  mother's  presence. 

It  was  a  singular  interview. 

.  He  approached  her  with  expressions  of  ardent  admi- 
ration and  delight,  to  which  she  remained  quietly  and 
coldly  silent.  At  last,  subdued  in  spite  of  himself,  he 
exclaimed  with  some  chagrin,  "But  is  it  not  very 
strange,  since  you  are  so  cold  to  me,  that  you  yet 
desire  to  marry  me?" 

"So  far  as  it  has  been  in  your  power,  you  have 
dragged  our  names  through  the  mud,"  she  replied. 
"You  shall  rehabilitate  them  !  " 

"Well,  all  right !  "  he  retorted  quickly.  "We  shall 
be  very  happy.  You-  are  a  very  beautiful  woman. 
We'll  go  to  my  plantations  in  Little  Russia ;  and  your 
father  can  come  to  see  us  —  not  your  mother,  she's 
done  this  !  I  have  the  horses  and  dogs  you  like,  and 
you'll  be  a  great  card  at  court." 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  65 

The  wedding  had  been  arranged  to  take  place  on 
the  morrow,  Monday.  Prince  Gortschakoff  had  given 
directions  for  the  ceremony,  and  had  furnished  the 
usual  four  groomsmen  from  his  own  staff,  and  had 
given  to  Madame  de  Guerbel  the  Czar's  special  pass- 
port permitting  her,  as  Madame  Constantine  de  Guer- 
bel, to  leave  Russia  with  her  parents,  even  in  the  event 
of  Constantine's  not  having  been  found. 

In  the  yard  of  the  hotel  where  they  were  staying, 
their  travelling- carriage,  strapped  with  their  luggage, 
stood  in  readiness  for  starting  the  moment  they  should 
get  back  from  the  ceremony ;  for,  if  they  had  given 
him  any  time  after  that  took  place,  he  could,  by  Rus- 
sian law,  have  arrested  and  locked  her  up,  fed  her  on 
bread  and  water,  or  beaten  her,  had  he  so  chosen  to 
do. 

On  Monday  morning  as  ten  o'clock,  the  hour  set 
for  the  marriage,  drew  near,  Count  de  Guerbel  called 
at  their  hotel  to  ask  if  it  might  be  deferred  for  an  hour 
to  make  way  for  a  funeral.  They  assented;  and  at 
eleven  o'clock,  Genevieve,  dressed  in  black  silk,  with 
a  black  lace  shawl  thrown  over  her  head,  accompanied 
by  her  parents,  entered  the  Greek  cathedral  in  Warsaw. 

The  Archbishop  Novitzki  of  Warsaw  had  received 
orders  to  celebrate  this  marriage.  In  the  vestry,  the 
usual  form,  pledging  that  children  born  of  this  union 
should  be  brought  up  in  the  Russo-Greek  Church,  was 
signed.  The  altar  was  dressed  in  the  middle  of  the 
church,  which  was  filled  with  people.  It  was  a  very 
dark  and  shadowy  interior;  from  a  high  window  a 
single  veiled  ray  of  sunlight  fell,  and  rested,  singularly 


66  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

enough,  only  upon  the  bride,  leaving  the  others  in 
more  pronounced  gloom. 

According  to  the  custom,  the  contracting  parties 
held  each  a  lighted  candle.  The  one  held  by  de 
Guerbel  burned  poorly,  and  was  shaking  about ;  while 
the  one  held  by  Genevieve  burned  clear  and  as  if  in 
the  hand  of  a  statue. 

One  of  the  groomsmen  whispered  to  Mrs.  Ward, 
"  Why,  your  daughter  is  in  black,  and  it  looks  like  a 
funeral." 

"  I  consider  it  a  funeral,"  was  the  mother's  reply. 
The  Wards'  story  had  been  well  noised  in  Warsaw, 
during  the  months  of  their  waiting ;  and  no  one,  not 
even  those  unprejudiced  by  Constantine's  insinuating 
slanders,  and  in  sympathy  with  the  trying  position  of 
the  mother  and  daughter,  had  believed  that  these  two 
American  women  could  get  themselves  righted  thus, 
alone  and  in  a  foreign  land.  It  had  been  feared  that 
Constantine  might,  at  the  last  moment,  frustrate  the 
Czar's  purpose  by  hiring  some  one  to  interrupt  the 
ceremony,  in  which  case  it  could  not  have  been  com- 
pleted. When  this  apprehension  was  hinted  to  Col. 
Ward  and  his  son,  Col.  Ward  replied,  — 

"  Well,  we  are  of  course  nobody  in  Russia ;  but,  if 
Mr.  G —  tries  that,  I'll  shoot  him  dead  at  the  altar  !  " 

"  And  if  father's  aim  fails,  mine  shall  not ! "  added 
young  Robert  Ward.  "  It  would  be  the  only  way  left 
to  avenge  my  sister." 

But  in  the  midst  of  a  stillness  so  deep  it  seemed  as 
if  the  beating  of  the  heart  could  be  heard,  the  cere- 
mony proceeded  to  the  end.  At  its  close  the  arch- 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  6/ 

bishop  came  forward,  and  kindly  congratulated  the 
bride.  She  thanked  him  in  a  low  voice,  and,  coldly 
inclining  her  head  to  her  husband,  took  her  father's 
arm ;  Mrs.  Ward  stepped  to  her  other  side,  saluted 
the  groom  in  the  same  cold  manner,  and  they  moved 
down  the  aisle.  The  crowd  of  witnesses  seemed  para- 
lyzed. One  of  the  ladies  of  the  court  stepped  for- 
ward, and  whispered  to  Mrs.  Ward,  — 

"  I  never  thought  you  could  accomplish  this  :  God 
be  praised  !  " 

They  descended  the  church  steps,  —  Constantine 
following  them  as  one  in  a  dream,  —  entered  the  car- 
riage, and  were  driven  away,  while^he  yet  stood  on  the 
church  steps.  And,  in  less  than  five  minutes  after 
reaching  their  hotel,  they  were  whirling  away  to  the 
train,  and  were  out  of  Russia  before  the  bewildered 
bridegroom  could  set  about  getting  a  police-warrant 
to  arrest  his  bride. 

Towards  the  end  of  their  journey  en  route  for  Milan, 
they  went  by  night  in  a  diligence  down  the  hill  to 
Trieste.  The  way  was  narrow,  on  one  side  a  deep 
precipice,  and  they  felt  timid. 

"But  do  you  go  to  sleep,  dear  mother,"  said  they 
to  Mrs.  Ward,  "and  we  will  watch." 

After  some  time  Mrs.  Ward  waked  up  to  find  that 
the  rest  were  all  sleeping,  and,  on  looking  out,  dis- 
covered that  they  were  flying  at  a  mad  pace  down  the 
mountain,  and  both  driver  and  leaders  were  gone. 

She  roused  her  husband  and  Robert,  who  sprang 
out,  and  seized  the  horses'  heads  barely  in  time  to 
stop  their  plunging  headlong  over  the  precipice. 


68  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

Col.  Ward  took  the  missing  driver's  place,  and  there 
was  no  more  sleeping.  At  the  first  village  they 
reached,  they  stopped  and  waked  the  people,  asked 
them  to  search  for  the  poor  fellow  and  horses,  who 
had  undoubtedly  either  been  thrown  over  the  abyss,  or 
rolled  off  in  sleep ;  got  new  horses  and  postilion,  and 
drove  into  Trieste. 

When  the  news  of  the  marriage,  and  of  their  im- 
mediate flight  from  Russia,  was  known  in  St.  Peters- 
burg and  Warsaw,  and  it  was  seen,  that,  instead  of 
reigning  as  a  belle  in  the  distinguished  circles  in 
which  her  marriage  entitled  her  to  appear,  Madame 
de  Guerbel  had  only  sought  the  single  justice  of  the 
rehabilitation  of  her  own  good  name,  it  was  felt  that 
no  more  than  justice  had  been  done,  and  that  her  step 
in  coming  to  St.  Petersburg,  instead  of  being  unwar- 
ranted assurance,  had  been  an  act  of  modesty  and 
heroism. 

She  never  sought  for  a  divorce,  because  she  felt  no 
desire  to  marry  again.  She  accepted  nothing  but  their 
friendship  from  her  husband's  family,  and  scorned  to 
make  any  claims  to  his  estates. 

During  the  year  passed  in  Russia,  Madame  de  Guer- 
bel received  eleven  offers  of  marriage,  many  of  them 
very  brilliant ;  but  she  was  not  to  be  turned  from  her 
purpose.  She  kept  a  list  of  her  lovers,  and  when  they 
proved  too  persistent  would  turn  to  it,  and  ask  de- 
murely, — 

"  Let  us  see,  what  number  is  yours  ?  " 

When  Constantine  de  Guerbel  was  fourteen  years 
of  age,  his  commanding  officer  said  of  him,  that  he 


GENRVTEVE    WARD.'  69 

had  all  the  vices  of  a  full-grown  man,  and  seemed  to 
know  as  much.  He  was  so  eminently  handsome,  that 
the  empress  made  him  her  page,  and  a  portrait  of  him 
hung  in  the  palace. 

He  bore  a  remarkable  resemblance  to  the  Czar 
Nicholas,  only  his  complexion  and  eyes  were  dark. 

When  only  seventeen  years  of  age,  he  ran  away  in  a 

yacht  with  the  wife  of  Gen.  W ,  taking  goods  to 

the  amount  of  many  thousand  roubles. 

The  government,  being  informed,  sent  out  a  steamer 
and  caught  him.  He  was  confined  in  the  fortress  for 
three  months,  but  was  allowed  the  society  of  his 
friends,  and  all  kinds  of  luxuries.  He  seemed  always 
to  escape  any  severe  punishment.  His  personal  power 
with  both  men  and  women  was  something  inexplicably 
great.  He  was  able  to  embarrass  and  lethargize  the 
reasoning  faculties,  while  intensifying  the  emotional. 
The  Saxon  minister  in  Paris,  Count  de  Seebach,  who 
had  charge  of  the  Russian  Legation,  was  thoroughly 
deceived  in  his  favor  at  the  time  of  his  conduct  in 
Paris,  and  as  thoroughly  undeceived  when  heavily 
cheated  by  him  in  some  money  transactions. 

He  was  a  completely  dissipated  man,  and  before  his 
thirty-fourth  year  had  lost  the  use  of  his  legs. 

About  a  year  after  the  flight  of  the  Wards  from 
Russia,  a  man  forced  his  way  into  their  apartments  in 
the  Rue  de  Rivoli,  Paris,  during  their  temporary  ab- 
sence one  morning,  scared  the  servants,  and  opened 
and  ransacked  things  generally,  and  went  away  leaving 
word  that  he  was  Constantine  de  Guerbel,  and  should 
call  again  that  evening. 


7O  GENEVIEVE    WARD, 

Mrs.  Ward  went  to  her  old  friend  M.  de  Bois  le 
Comte,  and  he  went  with  them  to  the  chief  of  police 
and  then  to  the  Russian  minister,  to  see  what  could  be 
done.  As  a  result,  two  gendarmes  were  placed  at  the 
foot  of  the  stairs  leading  to  their  apartments;  and, 
when  de  Guerbel  called,  he  was  informed  that  if  he 
annoyed  Madame  de  Guerbel  any  more,  he  would  be 
sent  out  of  France.  The  next  day  he  sent  an  huissier, 
commanding  her  to  return  to  him  and  live  with  him  as 
his  wife. 

But  the  French  court  decided  the  verdict  against 
him  on  the  precedent  of  a  case  tried  there  only  the 
year  previous,  in  which,  the  contesting  parties  being 
both  aliens  on  French  soil,  neither  could  be  forced  by 
French  law  to  live  with  the  other. 

He  was  told  that  he  must  go  to  Russia  if  he  wished 
to  institute  a  legal  process  to  oblige  her  to  live  with 
him.  This  unwelcome  advice,  together  with  the  pros- 
pect of  having  to  pay  for  the  pleasure  of  annoying  his 
wife,  effectually  silenced  him. 

Years  later,  when  Madame  de  Guerbel  was  giving 
singing-lessons  in  New  York,  a  friend  wrote  to  her 
from  Nice,  — 

"  Who,  think  you,  sits  next  me  at  table,  but  Count  Shouva- 
loff  and  Daniel  de  Guerbel?  The  latter  tells  me  that  his 
brother  Consta'ntine  died  at  Pisa." 

Of  Constantine's  four  brothers,  only  one  lives. 
Serge  de  Guerbel,  who  was  cashiered  and  entered 
the  ranks  as  a  common  soldier,  was  so  brave  in  the 
Crimean  war  that  at  his  death  he  was  re-instated,  ad- 
vanced in  rank,  and  decorated  in  his  coffin. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD. 


His  sister,  a  beautiful  woman,  wife  of  Gen.  Stahl 
d'Hoistein,  governor  of  the  eastern  frontier  of  Poland, 
is  living  now  in  St.  Petersburg. 


LINES    TO   GENEVIEVE   WARD. 

WRITTEN   IN   FLORENCE. 

WITHIN  this  far  Etruscan  clime, 

By  vine-clad  slopes  and  olive  plains, 
And  round  these  walls  still  left  by  Time, 

The  boundaries  of  his  old  domains ; 

Here  at  the  dreamer's  golden  goal, 

Whose  dome  o'er  winding  Arno  drops, 
Where  old  Romance  still  breathes  its  soul 

Through  Poesy's  enchanted  stops ; 

Where  Art  stills  holds  enchanted  state, 
(What  though  her  banner  now  is  furled?) 

And  keeps  within  her  guarded  gate 

The  household  treasures  of  the  world,  — 

What  joy  amid  all  this  to  find 

One  single  bird,  or  flower,  or  leaf, 
Earth's  any  simplest  show  designed 

For  pleasure,  what  though  frail  or  brief,  — 

If  but  that  leaf  or  bird  or  flower 

Were  wafted  from  the  western  strand, 
To  breathe  into  one  happy  hour 

The  freshness  of  my  native  land ! 

That  joy  is  mine :  the  bird  I  hear, 

The  flower  is  blooming  near  me  now,  — 
The  leaf  that  some  great  bard  might  wear 

In  triumph  on  his  sacred  brow. 

For,  lady,  while  thy  voice  and  face 

Make  thee  the  Tuscan's  loveliest  guest, 
Within  this  old  romantic  space 

Breathes  all  the  freshness  of  the  West 

BUCHANAN  READ. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD. 


IV. 


THE  romantic  story  of  her  Russian  journey  and 
marriage  had  reached  Italy,  where,  on  her 
return  to  Milan,  Madame  de  Guerbel  was  warmly  re- 
ceived by  many  new  as  well  as  old  friends.  It  was 
known  that  she  had  not  only  defeated  the  schemes  of 
a  very  bad  man,  at  the  same  time  winning  the  esteem 
and  friendship  of  his  proud  family,  but  that  in  reject- 
ing every  right  to  which  her  marriage  entitled  her,  and 
retaining  only  her  vindicated  name,  she  had  given 
indubitable  proofs  of  her  noble  singleness  of  purpose. 

Col.  Ward,  having  seen  them  comfortably  settled, 
returned  to  his  business  affairs  in  America;  and 
Madame  de  Guerbel  resumed  her  singing  lessons  under 
the  direction  of  San  Giovanni  (the  same  who  sang  in 
America  with  Madame  Alboni) :  she  also  took  up  draw- 
ing and  painting,  and  in  all  these  arts  made  such  rapid 
and  certain  progress,  that  Mrs.  Ward,  in  the  somewhat 
unusual  despair  of  having  to  choose  between  a  diver- 
sity of  splendid  aptitudes,  brought  the  matter  to  a  point 
by  telling  her  daughter  that  she  might  take  a  week  to 
choose  which  study  she  would  devote  herself  to. 

"  For  you  can  only  do  one  of  these  arts  justice," 
said  she.  "Therefore  make  a  choice,  and  avoid  my 


76  GENEVIEVK    WARD. 

mistake.  I  have  absolutely  excelled  in  nothing,  be- 
cause I  was  allowed  to  dabble  in  all." 

At  the  end  of  the  week  Madame  de  Guerbel  said, 
"  Music  ! " 

The  Italian  poet  Uberti,  of  Milan,  an  original  .bris- 
tling all  over  with  characteristics,  a  mad  republican, 
whose  brain,  seething  with  revolutionary  instincts, 
germinated  class  and  national  imbroglios ;  a  man  also, 
or  perhaps  one  should  say  consequently,  of  kind 
heart  and  mild  personal  impulses,  and  a  vivid  inter- 
preter of  artistic  ideals,  —  was  engaged  by  Mrs.  Ward 
to  teach  Madame  de  Guerbel  the  physical  part  of 
declamation. 

"I  remember  Signor  Uberti  so  well,"  said  Miss 
Ward  to  me.  "  He  used  to  prepare  little  pieces,  idyls, 
expressly  for  me.  He  would  first  read  them  to  me, 
teaching  me  the  proper  look  and  gesture  by  his  own 
manner.  Then  I  studied  these  scenes  by  myself;  and 
at  lesson-time  he  would  read  them,  leaving  the  look 
and  gesture  for  me  to  do.  One  of  these  scenes  was 
about  a  corsair,  who  sails  away  from  his  lady-love  :  a 
terrible  storm  comes  up,  and  his  little  boat  is  wrecked  ; 
he  is  washed  ashore,  and  she  is  in  utter  despair.  I 
used  to  get  along  all  right,  until  the  moment  when  her 
woe  and  horror  are  to  be  expressed  in  one  frenzied 
exclamation :  here  I  disappointed  him,  until  one  day 
he  stamped  his  foot,  and  glared  at  me  ;  and  perfectly 
desperate,  the  blood  rushing  into  my  cheeks  and  the 
tears  into  my  eyes,  I  wrung  my  hands,  and  made  the 
very  cry  he  wanted.  '  Ah  ! '  he  cried  excitedly, '  that's 
the  corsair's  bride  indeed.'  " 


GENEVTEVE    WARD.  77 

By  this  method  he  taught  her  three  operas,  "  Nor- 
ma,"  "  Lucia,"  and  "  Semiramide."  At  last,  one  day, 
he  came  to  Mrs.  Ward,  and  said,  — 

"My  dear  madame,-!  am  not  a  thief,  and  I  can't 
go  on  taking  money  for  giving  lessons  to  your  daugh- 
ter. I  can't  teach  her ;  no  use  ! "  and  was  going 
away  as  abruptly  as  he  had  come. 

But  Mrs.  Ward  detained  him,  exclaiming  indignant- 
ly, "Why,  —  why  can't  you  teach  her?  I  know  she's 
bright ! " 

"  Bright !  "  cried  the  old  poet,  turning  back,  a  tinge 
of  chagrin  blending  with  his  genial  smile.  "  Ah,  yes, 
madame  !  she  is  bright,  —  so  bright  that  Uberti  can 
teach  her  nothing  more.  She  already  interprets  for 
herself  better  than  any  one  can  teach  her." 

She  was  now  just  entering  her  eighteenth  year,  and 
her  determination  to  go  upon  the  operatic  stage  met 
with  some  opposition  from  her  family,  who  still  thought 
a  divorce  should  be  procured,  that  the  way  to  a  happy 
and  fitting  marriage  might  be  open ;  but  Madame  de 
Guerbel  was  permanently  impressed  against  the  mar- 
riage idea ;  and  Gen.  John  A.  Dix,  Baron  Brunnow, 
and  other  friends,  wisely  supported  her  in  her  choice 
of  a  career  for  which  her  superb  physical  vitality  and 
her  rich  mental  and  vocal  endowments  so  well  quali- 
fied her. 

It  was  at  this  date,  that  the  Archduke  Maximilian 
saw  her  one  day  at  the  opera.  He  gazed  at  her  for  a 
long  time  as  if  no  one  else  were  visible ;  and,  when  he 
passed  her  in  going  out,  he  bowed  with  an  air  of  gen- 
uine homage,  murmuring, — 


78  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

"  Belle  comme  un  ange  !  " 

Wishing  to  secure  a  first-class,  unprepossessed,  criti- 
cal judgment,  to  determine  whether  or  not  she  could 
become  a  really  great  singer,,  she  talked  the  matter 
over  with  her  mother,  and  it  was  agreed  to  put  it  tc 
the  test  in  a  novel  manner. 

Madame  de  Guerbel  dressed  herself  in  the  gar- 
ments of  a  poor  girl  of  the  people,  and  completed  the 
disguise  with  a  pair  of  ugly  green  goggles.  Mrs.  Ward 
made  herself  up  as  an  old  family-servant,  and  they 
went  to  the  rooms  of  the  great  Lamperti. 

As  they  entered  the  master's  salon,  a  class  was  still  in 
attendance  ;  and  Lamperti  in  a  rage  was  banging  about, 
striking  his  piano  with  such  force  that  the  wires  rattled 
and  twanged,  and  shaking  his  pupils  by  the  shoulders. 

These  proceedings  filled  the  young  girl  with  appre- 
hension :  but  there  was  no  turning  back  ;  Lamperti  had 
seen  her,  and  was  already  advancing. 

"  Well ! "  said  he,  pausing  directly  in  front  of  her, 
"  who  are  you  ?  and  what  do  you  want  ?  " 

Preserving  an  easy  exterior,  she  looked  straight 
through  her  green  goggles,  and  replied,  —  speaking 
artfully  in  Italian  patois,  — 

"  I  can't  pay  you  well,  signer ;  but  I  must  learn  to 
sing,  to  sing  perfectly,  so  as  to  support  myself.  I 
know  I  can  act!" 

"So,  so?"  said  Lamperti.  "Who's  with  you?  You 
did  not  come  alone?" 

"  No,  signer :  my  nurse  is  waiting  for  me." 

"  Why  do  you  wear  these  things?  Take  them  off" 
(pointing  to  the  goggles) . 


GENE VI EVE    WARD.  79 

"  No,  I  cannot  do  that  yet,  —  not  till  my  eyes  are 
stronger." 

Lamperti  turned  over  some  music,  and  gave  her  a 
little  air  to  sing.  When  she  had  finished,  he  stood 
a  few  moments  looking  at  her  in  silence,  and  then 
said,  very  brusquely,  — 

"  Yes,  you  can  sing :  I'll  teach  you ;  "  then,  after 
another  pause,  he  asked,  "  What  part  of  Italy  do  .you 
come  from?  " 

"  Ah  ! "  she  replied  quickly,  "  you  know  by  my 
accent,  but  of  course  study  will  correct  that." 

He  perceived  that  his  question  was  parried,  but  did 
not  for  a  moment  imagine  her  patois  was  not  genuine, 
or  that  it  was  with  American  wit  he  was  fencing. 

She  came  regularly  to  her  lessons,  dressed  in  her 
plain,  poor  clothes,  with  scrupulous  care,  and  attended 
by  her  nurse.  Her  progress  pleased  him ;  but  she 
mystified  him,  especially  when  she  insisted  on  paying 
the  full  tuition. 

"  I  thought  you  could  not  pay  so  much,"  said  he. 

"I  must  pay  you,"  she  replied,  "because,  when  my 
tuition  is  completed,  I  must  belong  to  myself:  I  must 
be  free  to  make  my  own  terms  for  my  voice." 

She  was  exceedingly  diligent,  and  this  had  made 
him  habitually  milder  to  her  than  to  his  other  pupils  ; 
but  one  day,  when  he  was  particularly  irritable,  he 
struck  her  suddenly  across  one  hand  with  the  pencil 
he  held.  He  had  been  accustomed  to  see  his  pupils, 
some  of  them  girls  from  old  and  noble  families,  cringe 
and  weep  under  his  severity,  with  no  notion  of  resent- 
ing it.  Madame  de  Guerbel  rose  from  the  piano, 


80  GENE VI EVE    WAKD. 

drew  'herself  up,  and  looked  at  him  quietly,  with  an 
air  almost  of  contempt.  He  bowed,  —  for  him  an 
apology,  —  and  said,  in  a  low  voice,  with  a  satirical 
yet  respectful  accent,  "  You  are  a  lady  !  " 

The  lesson  went  on  without  further  comment.  The 
next  time  she  appeared  without  the  goggles,  but  other- 
wise maintained  to  the  last  the  rdle  she  had  assumed. 
Whether  her  eyes  enforced  the  mute  rebuke  of  the 
previous  lesson,  or  not,  Lamperti  never  again  treated 
her  uncivilly. 

The  next  year,  in  the  midst  of  her  brilliant  successes 
as  the  cantatrice  Madame  Guerrabella,  —  for  into  this 
flowing  word  the  Italians  had  changed  the  name  de 
Guerbel,  —  she  met  her  old  master,  and  told  him  the 
whole  story  of  the  way  in  which  she  had  made  sure  of 
his  unbiased  opinion  of  her  powers,  and  obtained  the 
benefit  of  his  instruction. 

"  I  always  knew  there  was  something,"  said  Lem- 
perti ;  "  but  you  kept  it  perfectly,  —  only  once  when  I 
lost  my  temper." 

"  Ah  !  you  were  very  wrong,  because  I  did  not  de- 
serve it,"  she  said  quickly.  "  I  was  careful :  I  obeyed 
you  exactly." 

"  Then,  suppose  you  had  deserved  it  "  — 

"  Not  even  then :  you  forget  that  I  am  an  Ameri- 
can." 

She  sang  first  in  Milan,  at  La  Scala,  in  "  Lucrezia 
Borgia."  When  the  curtain  rose,  and  Madame  Guer- 
rabella came  forward,  to  the  surprise  of  every  one  not 
in  a  certain  high  box,  she  was  greeted  with  hisses. 
She  walked  to  the  footlights,  and,  folding  her  arms, 
looked  up  to  the  box  calmly  in  silence. 


GENE VI EVE    WARD.  8 1 

She  had  finished  her  vocal  studies  with  Lamperti, 
unquestionably  the  greatest  teacher  in  Milan.  Her 
former  teacher,  San  Giovanni,  meanly  irritated  by  this, 
had  taken  this  box,  and,  with  the  party  hired  to  assist 
in  the  expression  of  his  spleen,  now  stood  up,  and 
redoubled  the  hissing.  The  audience  seemed  spell- 
bound, until  an  old  gentleman  in  the  pit  sprang  up 
and  exclaimed,  "  For  shame  !  "  The  audience  emphat- 
ically applauded  this  protest.  With  a  fine  color  in 
her  cheeks,  Madame  Guerrabella  slowly  unfolded  her 
arms,  and  began  to  sing  in  a  silence  stirred  by  no 
other  sound  until,  with  the  closing  cadences,  the  audi- 
ence broke  into  enthusiastic  cheers,  and  the  high  box 
was  discovered  to  be  vacant. 

But  her  real  debut  was  at  Bergamo,  where,  during 
the  carnival  season,  her  appearance  in  Pacini's  opera, 
"  Stella  di  Napoli,"  inspired  one  of  the  most  splendid 
popular  ovations  ever  tendered  to  a  young  artiste  ;  and 
on  her  return  to  Milan  she  was  engaged  on  proud 
terms  to  sing  in  the  chief  theatre  at  Trieste.  On 
reaching  Venice,  en  route  for  Trieste,  she  was  met  at 
the  railway-station  by  a  secretary  of  the  director  with 
whom  her  contract  was  made,  who  said,  in  a  matter- 
of-course  way,  — 

"  We  have,  after  all,  been  unable  to  secure  the  thea- 
tre at  Trieste ;  but  we  hope  you  will  kindly  open  the 
opera  here  in  Venice  instead." 

The  Italians  of  the  kingdom  of  Venice  were  at  that 
time  very  generally  united  in  their  determination  not 
to  support,  either  opera  or  other  gayeties,  because  of 
the  unhappy  situation  of  the  Venetians  under  Austrian 


82  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

dominion.  Madame  Guerrabella,  perceiving  at  once 
what  lay  behind  so  considerable  and  abrupt  an  altera- 
tion, and  that  she  was  to  be  used  to  trick  the  Vene- 
tians out  of  their  patriotic  resolutions,  referred  to  her 
contract,  and  replied,  — 

"  My  engagement  is  for  Trieste,  and  I  must  decline^ 
to  alter  it." 

"  Do  not  refuse,  madame,"  said  the  secretary,  losing 
his  studied  indifference,  "  but  accept  upon  your  own 
terms  :  make  them  what  you  will,  and  I  am  author- 
ized to  assure  you  that  the  governor  of  Venice,  Count 
Toggenburg,  will  come  himself,  and  ratify  any  proposi- 
tion you  may  choose  to  make." 

"  My  engagement  is  for  Trieste,"  she  repeated ;  and, 
as  no  train  was  returning  immediately  to  Milan,  she 
went  to  a  hotel. 

The  persistent  secretary  soon  followed,  and,  on 
being  admitted,  again  urged  her  with  every  variety  of 
argument,  and  splendor  of  inducement,  to  reconsider 
her  decision. 

Madame  Guerrabella,  who  loved  Italy  and  the  Ital- 
ians, remained  firm  ;  and  the  secretary,  losing  temper, 
manners,  and  honesty  also,  seized  the  contract  lying 
on  the  table  at  her  side,  and  tore  it  in  pieces,  exclaim- 
ing,— 

"  You  will  be  obliged  to  sing,  madame,  —  you  shall 
see  !  " 

"Very  well,"  said  Madame  Guerrabella  :  "  I  will  do 
what  I  am  obliged  to." 

At  four  o'clock  the  next  morning,  hours  before  the 
secretary  had  any  idea  of  calling  on  her,  she  felt 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  83 

"  obliged  "  to  take  the  train  for  Milan,  where  she  was 
received  with  acclamation.  Count  Correr,  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Venetian  Emigration,  together  with  Count 
Meroner,  called  to  thank  her,  in  the  name  of  the  com- 
mittee, for  her  brave  fidelity  to  Italy's  cause,  and  made 
her  citizen  of  Venice.  Messages  of  affection  and 
gratitude  flowed  in  from  known  and  unknown  sources 
during  the  day :  she  received  an  immediate  engage- 
ment to  sing  at  the  Carcano  (Milan);  and,  on  the  night 
of  her  appearance,  her  reception  was  not  unlike  such 
as  a  liberated  people  might  render  to  a  queen-liberator. 

Her  success  was  complete.  She  continued  at  La 
Scala,  and  at  concerts  in  Milan  and  Paris.  At  one  of 
these,  given  by  the  Baroness  Von  Meyendorff,  the 
Parisian  critic  Jules  le  Comte  wrote  :  "  A  lady  whose 
real  name  has  been  Italianized  into  Guerrabella  was 
heard  with  great  surprise  and  delight.  She  is  remarka- 
bly beautiful ;  and,  when  we  could  no  longer  listen  to 
her  exquisite  voice,  our  eyes  were  still  bounden  sub- 
jects to  her  beauty." 

During  this  visit  to  Paris  she  went  to  see  her  kind 
friend  and  protector  Rossini,  who  was  at  his  country- 
seat  in  Passy.  She  rehearsed  "  Semiramide,"  he 
accompanying  her ;  and  at  the  close,  when  she  timidly 
asked  the  great  composer,  — 

"Could  I  venture  at  the  Italiens?"  he  kissed  her 
forehead,  and,  taking  both  her  hands  in  his,  replied,  — 

"  Tell  them  Rossini  says  no  one  can  sing  it  better, 
and  no  one  look  it  so  well,  rcgina  mia  /  " 

This  was  the  last  farewell :  she  never  saw  him  again. 

Her   debut  at   the    Italiens   was   successful.       She 


84  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

sung  in  " Scmiramide,"  "II  Trovatore,"  "I  Puritani," 
"  Lucrezia  Borgia,"  Elvira  in  "  Don  Giovanni,"  in  "  La 
Traviata,"  etc. ;  and  the  French  and  Italian  jour- 
nals wrote  glowing  encomiums.  Once,  when  she  was 
singing  as  Elvira  with  Mario  in  Paris,  he  retreated 
before  her  instead  of  attacking  her.  "  Why  did  you 
do  that?  "  asked  Frezzolini ;  to  which  Mario  replied,  — • 

"  I  could  not  stand  the  fire  of  Elvira's  beautiful, 
angry  eyes." 

She  studied  with  Moderati  (now  in  New  York,  and 
the  delight  of  the  Coney- Islanders),  and  Mrs.  Ward 
took  her  to  Madame  Persiani.  The  latter,  having 
listened  to  the  young  girl's  singing,  —  who  had  given 
months  of  practice  to  acquiring  the  famous  Persiani 
trill,  —  exclaimed,  — 

"  She  is  already  perfect.  I  can  teach  her  nothing. 
I  can  only  give  her  my  fioraturasf  " 

Rubini-Gallinari  passed  the  same  verdict.  Madame 
Persiani,  who  was  not  only  a  great  artiste,  but  a  woman 
of  lovely  character,  became  Madame  Guerrabella's 
firm  friend,  and  one  of  the  most  true  and  discriminat- 
ing admirers  of  her  talents. 

In  July  of  the  same  year,  of  Col.  Ward's  appoint- 
ment to  the  United  States  consulate  at  Bristol,  Eng- 
land, "The  London  Illustrated  Times"  announced 
that,  — 

"  Madame  Guerrabella,  a  young  singer,  with  an  admirable 
soprano  and  a  perfect  method,  has  just  arrived,  and  is  to  sing 
at  Madame  Sala's  *  private  concert  with  the  '  English  skylark,' 
Miss  Louisa  Pyne,  and  other  eminent  vocalists." 

1  George  Augustus  Sala's  mother. 


GENE  VIE  VE    WARD.  85 

She  sang  also  at  the  Queen's  Concert  Rooms  for 
the  benefit  of  the  Warwick-street  schools,  but  she 
made  no  public  debut  in  England  at  this  time  :  her 
singing,  however,  made  a  permanent  impression  of  the 
highest  character  on  the  comparatively  few  who  heard 
her. 

The  next  season  she  was  again  singing  in  the  capi- 
tals of  Italy  and  France,  and  with  such  triumph  that 
the  entire  Continental  press  found  space  to  signally 
comment  thereon.  Her  pronunciation  of  the  Italian 
and  French  languages  was  such  that  she  was  claimed 
in  both  countries  as  a  native,  and  her  American  origin 
scouted  as  a  fiction. 

The  French  and  Italian  art-critics,  Fabien,  Fitali, 
Chadeuil,  and  Fiorentino,  the  great  critic  of  the  world 
at  that  time,  and  regarded  as  the  scourge  of  artists,  all 
wrote  sparkling  leaders  concerning  her  grand  and  ver- 
satile powers.  "The  London  Spectator"  then  took 
up  the  cry  :  — 

"  The  French  and  Italian  papers  are  very  demonstrative  in 
favor  of  Signora  Guerrabella.  It  is  only  two  years  since  she 
began  her  career ;'  and  already  she  is  an  established  favorite, 
and  is  greeted  with  the  utmost  enthusiasm  wherever  she  makes 
her  appearance.  At  Turin  and  Milan  she  has  recently  been 
the  reigning  star;  and  the  reports  of  her  success  have  been 
followed  by  substantial  offers  of  engagements  from  several 
quarters,  —  among  others,  from  Constantinople.  The  Italian 
critics  say  that  since  the  days  of  the  great  Pasta,  no  one  has 
equalled  La  Guerrabella;  and  the  praise  they  lavish  on  her 
voice,  acting,  and  personal  beauty,  is  confirmed  by  private 
letters." 

Poets  wrote   verses   to   her.     Artists   followed   her 


86  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

from  place  to  place,  petitioning  to  be  allowed  to  paint 
her ;  sculptors  prayed  for  the  honor  of  modelling  her 
arm  and  hand,  which  were  especially  and  classically 
beautiful. 

One  fine  model  of  her  hand,1  in  marble,  rests  on  a 
little  velvet  cushion  in  a  cabinet  at  Corda  Lodge. 

One  of  the  most  unique  personal  tributes  received 
by  her  at  this  period  was  paid  by  the  venerable  Maxi- 
milian, Count  de  Waldeck,  painter  to  Napoleon  the 
Great.  He  told  her  that  seeing  and  listening  to  her 
recalled  to  his  memory  the  ancient  ode  to  Sappho, 
which  he  had  not  seen  for  over  fifty  years.  Seating 
himself  at  her  writing-desk,  he  wrote  as  follows  :  — 

SAPHO. 

(Reproduit  de  souvenir.) 

Written  at  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  eight  by  Count  Waldeck,  who  was 
painter  to  the  first  Napoleon ;  after  not  having  seen  the  verse  for  over  fifty 
years. 

Heureux  qui  pres  de  toi  pour  toi  seul  soupire 

Qui  jouit  du  plaisir  de  t'entendre  parler 

Qui  te  vois  quelquefois  doucement  lui  sourire 

Les  dieux  dans  ce  bonheur  peuvent  ils  m'egaler  ? 

Je  suis  heureux  enfin  sitot  que  je  te  vois 

Et  dans  les  doux  transports  oil  s'egare  mon  ame 

Je  ne  saurais  trouver  de  langue  ni  de  voix 

Un  nuage  confus  se  repand  sur  ma  vue 

Je  tremble  et  je  me  sens  interdite  eperdue 

Et  puis  partout  mon  corps  une  brulant  fiamme  1 

Je  circule,  et  je  tombe  en  de  douces  langueurs 

Un  frisson  me  saisit  I  je  tremble  I  je  me  meurs ! 

And,  handing  it  to  her,  said,  — 

»  By  Joel  T.  Hart,  the  American  sculptor,  who  did  her  bust. 


GENE VI EVE    WARD.  87 

"  Here  it  is  as  you  make  me  recollect  it."  When 
he  went  away  he  took  the  paper  with  him,  and  copied 
the  verse  correctly  from  the  printed  text,  on  its  other 
side,  as  follows  :  — 

(D'aprts  le  texte  retrouvf.) 

Heureux  I  qui  pres  de  toi,  pour  toi  seule  soupire 

Qui  jouit  du  plaisir  de  t'entendre  parler; 

Qui  te  vois  quelquefois  doucement  lui  sourire 

Les  Dieux  dans  son  bonheur  peuvent  Us  1'egaler  ? 

Je  sens  de  veine  en  veine  une  subtile  flarame 

Courir  partout  mon  corps,  sitot  que  je  te  vois; 

Et  dans  les  doux  transports,  oil  s'egare  mon  ame, 

Je  ne  saurais  trouver  de  langue  ni  de  voix. 

Un  nuage  confus  se  repand  sur  ma  vue  ; 

Je  ne  sens  plus ;  je  tombe  en  de  douces  langueurs 

Un  frisson  me  saisit  .  .  .  je  tremble  .  .  .  je  me  meurs !  * 

MAX.,  CTE.  DE  WALDEK. 
A  MADEMOISELLE  WARD. 

and  returned  it  to  her.     A  graceful  attention  from  an 
artist  one  hundred  and  eight  years  old  ! 

In  autumn  of  the  same  year,  an  English  journal 
published  in  Bristol  relates  that  — 

"  Madame  Guerrabella  of  Milan,  being  at  Clifton  on  a  visit, 
and  feeling  her  heart  glow  within  her  as  she  heard  of  the  sym- 
pathy displayed  by  the  English  in  behalf  of  beautiful  but  too- 
long-oppressed  Italy,  generously  offered  an  evening's  services 
in  aid  of  the  fund  being  raised  for  the  illustrious  liberator;  and 
the  proffered  favor  being  gladly  accepted  by  the  friends  of 
Italian  independence  resident  here,  other  aid  was  asked  and 
secured,  and  the  concert  was  arranged." 

1  Traduit  et  de'figure'  par  Oussius.  Louis  XV.  possedait  1'original,  tits 
ancien,  ecrit  sans  distinction  de  vers,  sans  ponctuation,  et  sans  ortographie. 


88  GENE VI EVE    WARD. 

"  The  London  Chronicle  "  commented  thereon,  — 

"  The  Bristol  papers  are  emphatic  in  reporting  the  appear- 
ance of  Mile,  de  Guerrabella  at  a  concert  in  aid  of  the  Gari- 
baldi Fund  in  Bristol.  The  occasion  was  indeed  remarkable. 
Mile.  Guerrabella  is  by  birth  an  American :  she  is  barely 
twenty  years  of  age,  but  she  has  already  achieved  for  herself 
a  distinguished  name  as  a  prima  donna  at  La  Scala.  Speak- 
ing of  her  performance,  a  local  paper  says :  '  She  sang  in  a 
manner  we  have  never  heard  surpassed ;  and  her  vocalization 
quite  equalled  Sontag  or  Alboni.  Her  voice  is  much  more 
extensive  than  either,  including  three  octaves  ;  and  her  constant 
flights,  'do,  re,  mi,'  above  the  lines,  took  her  audience  mani- 
festly by  surprise,  and  proved  her  to  be  of  that  rare  class  now 
to  be  found  —  a  pure  soprano. 

"  She  has  been  distinguished  in  Italy,  not  only  for  her  noble 
singing,  but  for  her  determined  refusal  to  sing  under  the  patron- 
age of  the  Austrian  government  at  Venice,  which  resorted  to  cu- 
rious manoeuvres  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  young  singer." 

Soon  after  the  Garibaldi  concert,  which,  as  will  be 
shortly  seen,  was  not  the  only  favor  Madame  Guerra- 
bella showed  to  the  Italian  patriot,  she  left  England  to 
fulfil  a  three-months'  winter  engagement  at  Bucharest. 

While  sailing  down  the  Danube  on  the  way  thither, 
she  noticed  that  the  captain  of  the  steamer,  an  Eng- 
lishman and  an  exceedingly  kind  and  courteous  gen- 
tleman, seemed  abstracted  and  depressed.  At  the 
outset  of  the  trip  she  had  also  observed  five  Hunga- 
rians on  deck,  who  had  after  a  little  time  disappeared. 
When  the  voyage  was  about  half  accomplished,  she 
made  an  opportunity  to  approach  the  captain. 

"  You  are  very  anxious  about  something,"  said  she. 
"  Is  it  about  the  journey  ?  If  it  is  any  thing  about 
which  a  woman  could  help  you,  I  should  like  to  try." 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  89 

The  captain  smiled  with  a  momentary  look  of 
relief;  but  his  kind  face  quickly  clouded  over  as  he 
replied,  — 

"  I  have  five  Hungarian  noblemen  on  board  :  you 
observed  them,  of  course,  by  their  costume.  They 
wished  to  join  Garibaldi.  But  we  shall  have  to  change 
steamers  to  go  over  the  rapids  at  the  next  frontier 
town,  my  steamer  is  so  large,  and  the  water  is  unfor- 
tunately very  low." 

"I  noticed  the  gentlemen,"  said  she;  "but  I 
haven't  seen  them  for  some  little  time." 

"Yes,  that's  it.  They  have  got  to  go  back,  poor 
/ellows ;  and  I  had  agreed  to  do  my  best  to  pass  them 
off  as  stokers.  They  are  down  in  the  stokers'  hole 
now." 

"  Oh  !  I  don't  think  they'll  have  to  do  that,"  said 
Madame  Guerrabella.  "Just  wait,  and  let  me  talk 
with  my  brother." 

It  was  her  young  brother,  Robert  Ward ; '  and  he 
had  his  despatch-bearer's  passport.  When  they  had 
consulted  together  she  returned  to  the  captain,  and 
said  quickly,  — 

"  We've  arranged  it :  we'll  take  them  over  with  us." 

"  Impossible  !  It  can't  be  done  with  so  many," 
exclaimed  the  captain. 

"Yes,  it  can,"  cried  she.  "Listen.  They  are  my 
brothers  :  they  are  all  going  with  me  on  our  Amer- 
ican passport.  Go  tell  them.  Send  them  to  me." 

1  This  young  man,  who  possessed  rare  talents  for  music,  painting,  and 
drawing,  died  of  consumption  at  Algiers,  whither  Mrs.  Ward  went  with  him 
in  tenacious  but  vain  hopes  of  his  recovery. 


9O  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

The  captain  shook  his  head,  but  carried  her  mes- 
sage to  the  refugees  in  the  stokers'  hole,  who  received 
it  with  delight,  and,  resuming  their  Austrian  costumes, 
rushed  up  on  deck  to  thank  their  young  benefactress. 

She  at  once  unfolded  her  plan. 

"  I  am  your  sick  sister,"  said  she ;  "  and  you  are  my 
brothers.  I  will  teach  you  a  few  phrases  and  excla- 
mations in  English.  Don't  utter  a  word  beyond  — 
especially  not  a  word  of  German,  which  would  betray 
us  all." 

She  then  gave  them  a  little  well-adapted  lesson  in 
English,  training  them  sharply;  and  after  having 
assisted  them  with  cloaks,  hats,  and  other  items  of 
disguise,  put  a  copy  of  "  Bradshaw  "  in  the  hand  of  one, 
and  taking  the  arm  of  two  of  the  five  Hungarians 
began  walking  the  deck  slowly,  as  if  feeble  and  weary. 

"  Now,"  said  she,  as  they  approached  the  frontier 
town,  "your  role  is  solely  this,  —  devotion  to  and 
anxiety  for  me ;  and  attend  to  the  cue  I  have  given 
you.  If  you  don't,  you'll  get  your  sister  into  prison  !  " 

The  officials  came  on  board  at  the  town.  The  ruse 
worked  smoothly  for  the  disembarkation  :  but  when 
they  were  told  it  would  be  some  hours  before  the 
other  boat  started,  Madame  Guerrabella  feared  the 
delay  might  prove  a  strain  too  great,  and  asked  per- 
mission to  go  at  once  on  board  with  her  brothers,  who 
did  not  speak  German ;  as  she  felt  so  ill,  she  desired 
rest  in  her  cabin.  She  asked  this  favor  with  so  win- 
ning a  mixture  of  timidity,  respect,  and  physical 
weakness,  that  it  was  granted  with  little  hesitation. 
The  officer,  who  examined  her  passport  just  before 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  9 1 

the  boat  started,  could  make  nothing  of  it,  and  seemed 
inclined  to  quiz  her :  she  answered  him,  however,  in 
bad  German,  with  a  sweet  and  sad  expression,  so  that 
he  went  away  quite  satisfied. 

When  they  started,  it  appeared  that  the  new  captain 
was  more  suspicious ;  and  Madame  Guerrabella,  in- 
stantly perceiving  this,  feigned  an  access  of  illness, 
and  went  down  into  the  ladies'  cabin,  peevishly  de- 
manding the  attendance  of  all  her  brothers. 

"This  captain  suspects,"  said  she  in  a  low  voice. 
"  I  must  keep  you  here  as  long  as  I  can-;  but  I  shall 
have  to  flirt  with  him  desperately  before  we  are  through 
with  this  affair  !  " 

Presently  they  went  again  on  deck,  Madame  Guer- 
rabella supported  by  two  of  her  brothers,  another  held 
her  wraps,  the  rest  were  occupied  with  pillows,  cush- 
ions, and  books.  She  affected  to  be  too  ill  and  nervous 
to  be  left  for  a  moment. 

As  they  passed  the  captain,  who  was  observing  them 
very  gravely,  Madame  Guerrabella  almost  impercep- 
tibly paused,  and  threw  him  a  glance,  half  petulant 
and  languid,  yet  altogether  of  such  dazzling  sort,  that" 
the  good  captain  was  lost  from  that  moment. 

"  How  very  beautiful  your  sister  is  ! "  he  said  the 
next  day  to  one  of  the  Hungarians,  who  in  his  whole- 
souled  admiration  and  gratitude  was  near  to  spoiling 
all  by  a  fluent  panegyric  in  German.  A  darting  rebuke 
in  the  eye  of  Madame  Guerrabella  warned  him  just  in 
time  to  enable  him,  with  an  awkward  "  Um  —  um  " 
and  a  deep  bow,  to  turn  away.  She  took  care,  with 
never-failing  vigilance,  to  keep  them  employed  with 


GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

her  countless  invalid  wants,  and  to  be  always  scolding 
and  fretting  at  them  semi-afiectionately  when  any  one, 
especially  the  captain,  was  near ;  contriving  at  the  same 
time  to  thoroughly  captivate  and  bewilder  that  gentle- 
man with  her  beauty,  her  smiles,  and  her  prettily- 
murmured  bad  German,  to  such  an  extent  that  it  was 
a  wonder  they  ever,  by  his  guidance,  came  straight  to 
Giurgevo. 

As  they  approached  this  point,  she  saw  they  could 
ill  repress  their  joy  :  so  she  had  them  all  into  the  cabin 
once  more,  and  lectured  them  soundly  on  the  too  little 
care  they  were  taking  of  their  faces. 

"  It  is  not  yet  Bucharest,"  said  she.  "  Here  you've 
been  looking  solemn  as  Moses  all  the  way,  worried  to 
death  for  your  sister ;  and  now  all  at  once  you  look  as 
if  you  had  come  in  sight  of  the  promised  land  !  All 
will  be  lost  if  you  are  so  careless  now.  Besides,  the 
captain  is  a  clever  fellow ;  and  I'm  not  at  all  sure  what 
he  thinks,  or  means  to  do." 

But,  whatever  the  captain  may  have  thought,  he 
parted  with  them  kindly  at  Giurgevo,  having  evidently 
felt  that  any  oversight  on  his  part  had  been  fully  com- 
pensated by  the  fascinating  presence  of  the  beautiful 
invalid. 

From  Giurgevo  they  went  by  diligence  to  Bucharest. 
There  they  were  safe ;  and  there  the  five  Hungarians 
fell  on  their  knees  in  the  street,  and  thanked  her,  cov- 
ering her  hands  with  tears  and  kisses  of  gratitude. 
Had  this  daring  ruse  failed,  all  would  have  been  sent 
to  prison. 

As  soon  as  Mrs.  Ward  learned  of  this  incident,  she 


GENEVfEVE    WARD.  93 

wrote  to  her  daughter,  charging  her  to  be  sure,  if 
trouble  came  of  it,  to  let  the  Hungarian  government 
know  that  the  blood  of  the  "  good  king  Matthias  Cor- 
vinus  "  flowed  in  her  veins. 

In  explanation  of  this :  One  day,  years  ago,  Hon. 
Tom  Corwin  called  on  Mrs.  Ward,  then  in  Washing- 
ton, and  claimed  relationship  with  her  through  the 
Wards,  with  whose  ancestors  the  Curwens,  or  Corwins, 
of  Salem,  Mass.,  had  intermarried.  During  his  call 
Mr.  Corwin  related  that  he  had  just  been  visited  by 
two  Hungarian  officers,  who  had  been  sent  by  the 
Hungarian  people  to  offer  him  the  crown  of  Hungary. 
It  seems,  that,  in  the  archives  of  Hungary,  there  had 
been  found  some  letters  addressed  to  their  beloved 
sovereign,  Matthias  Corvinus,  known  in  history  as  the 
"  good  king  Matthias,"  by  a  cousin  of  his  majesty's, 
who  settled,  under  the  name  Curwen,1  in  America,  and 
founded  a  family  there. 

The  Hungarians  felt,  that,  in  their  heavy  struggle 
with  Austria,  a  leader  of  the  house  of  the  "  good  king 
Matthias "  would  indeed  be  of  happiest  augury  for 
their  cause  ;  and  the  discovery  of  these  letters  resulted 
in  the  invitation  to  Mr.  Corwin,  as. the  most  distin- 
guished living  descendant  of  the  Corwin  —  and  Ward 
—  intermarriage,  to  assume  the  crown  of  Hungary. 

The  offer  was  twice  made,  and  twice  declined ;  Tom 
Corwin  deeming  it  to  be  the  greater  honor  and  nearer 
duty  to  be  the  head  of  his  party  in  America. 

Hence  Mrs.  Ward's  advice  to  her  daughter,  in  case 

1  The  Curwen  house  is  still  standing  in  Salem,  Mass.,  or  was  within  a  few 
years. 


94  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

the  latter  should  find  herself  in  any  danger  from  her 
unselfish  services  to  the  Hungarian  refugees  fleeing  to 
the  service  of  the  flag  of  Garibaldi. 

Of  her  visit  to  Bucharest,  a  letter,  dated  there  and 
published  in  a  New  York  journal,  said,  — 

"  We  have  been  more  than  fortunate  this  winter  in  securing 
for  our  opera  the  beautiful  and  gifted  prima  donna,  La  Guerra- 
bella.  She  made  her  deb&t  in  the  'Traviata,'  and  is  thought  by 
all  here  to  be  the  best  Traviata  ever  seen.  Her  success  was 
great.  The  reigning  prince  evinced  his  admiration  by  applaud- 
ing loudly;  and  the  audience,  by  their  repeated  calls,  proved 
her  to  be  already  their  favorite.  She  next  sang  '  Elvira,'  and 
such  a  furore  is  rare :  she  was  called  out  innumerable  times, 
and  covered  with  flowers.  The  cavatina  was  a  perfect  triumph ; 
and  after  the  last  trio  the  public  did  not  seem  to  know  how  to 
express  sufficient  admiration.  She  is  a  splendid  dramatic  singer 
and  actress.  She  next  sang  '  Rosina,'  in  the  '  Barber,'  and  had 
another  ovation  ;  such  a  lovely,  piquant,  Spanish  girl  is  difficult 
to  find.  She  introduced  Rode's  air,  which  was  given  most  ex- 
quisitely; and  when  you  heard  her  singing  like  a  bird,  and 
recalled  the  powerful,  thrilling  notes  of  '  Elvira,'  you  could 
hardly  believe  it  was  the  same  person.  In  a  few  days  we  shall 
have  her  in  the  '  Torquato  Tasso.'  The  great  point  of  this 
young  lady's  acting  (for  she  is  very  young)  is,  you  never  see 
her,  but  the  character  she  personifies.  Her  voice  is  essentially 
dramatic,  and  is  of  such  a  rich,  telling  character  that  in  the 
ensembles  it  towers  over  all.  I  have  not  said  much  of  La  Guer- 
rabella's  beauty,  for  I  believe  she  enjoys  a  European  reputation. 
I  will  only  add  that  her  smile  is  something  wonderful.  It  fas- 
cinates, it  sinks  into  your  heart,  and  makes  you  feel  joyful ;  and 
long  after  she  has  passed  from  your  sight  you  feel  it  still.  She 
sings  in  five  languages,  is  highly  accomplished  in  painting,  and, 
withal,  is  simple  and  unaffected  in  manner,  always  doing  some 
kind  and  generous  act  May  Heaven  bless  her  wherever  she 
goes  I " 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  95 

From  Bucharest  she  returned  to  England,  and 
studied  oratorio  with  the  great  oratorio-contralto,  Mrs. 
Martha  Groom,  who  had  been  a  protegee  of  Mrs.  Sid- 
dons.  Mrs.  Groom,  like  all  Miss  Ward's  teachers, 
was  delighted  with  the  earnestness  of  her  pupil,  who 
studied  with  an  industry  only  the  best  health  could 
have  sustained.  At  the  close  of  her  lessons  Mrs. 
Groom  presented  Madame  Guerrabella  with  a  lock  of 
hair  she  had  received  from  Mrs.  Siddons,  who  had 
clipped  it  herself  from  among  her  soft  white  locks. 

The  next  year  Madame  Guerrabella's  debut  in  Eng- 
lish opera  was  made  at  the  seventh  Philharmonic  con- 
cert of  the  summer  season.  The  programme  comprised 
Beethoven's  symphony  "  Eroica,"  and  Mendelssohn's 
in  A,  known  as  the  Italian ;  together  with  concertos, 
overtures,  and  vocal  music,  admirably  selected.  Pro- 
fessor Sterndale  Bennett  conducted ;  and  in  the  audi- 
ence sat  the  venerable  Ignace  Moscheles,  friend  and 
contemporary  of  Haydn,  Beethoven,  Mozart,  Hummel, 
Weber,  and  Spohr,  most  of  whom  had  composed  mu- 
sical works  expressly  for  the  Philharmonic  Society, 
then  in  its  forty-ninth  year  of  well-merited  success  and 
fame. 

"The  vocal  music  was  specially  interesting,"  said  a 
leading  journal  the  next  morning,  "inasmuch  as  it 
introduced  to  the  London  public  a  prima  donna  of 
great  Continental  celebrity, — Signora  Guerrabella,  who 
sang  the  beautiful  aria  '  Qui  la  voce  '  from  the  '  Puri- 
tani '  with  undeniable  grandeur  of  style  and  rare  com- 
mand of  vocal  resources.  Her  voice  is  remarkable  for 
its  power,  and  her  feeling  and  expression  are  eminently 


96  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

dramatic.  In  quality,  this  lady's  voice  reminded  us 
very  much  of  Grisi's  in  her  palmy  days,  whilst  her 
execution  is  equally  true  and  facile.  A  more  success- 
ful debut  has  rarely  been  made  in  this  country." 

Three  days  later  she  sang  in  St.  James  Hall,  at  the. 
annual  grand  concert  of  Mrs.  Anderson,  pianiste  to 
the  Queen  and  teacher  of  the  royal  children,  and  a 
classic  performer  of  great  ability.  Her  concerts  were 
always  considered  the  most  brilliant  and  fashionable 
events  of  the  London  musical  season ;  and  on  this 
occasion,  besides  her  own  superb  pianistic  display, 
there  was  singing  by  Giuglini,  Mile.  Titjens,  the  well- 
remembered  and  beloved  Parepa,  and  Madame  Guer- 
rabella,  the  debutante  who  was  heartily  applauded  and 
encored. 

Then  came  the  eighth  and  last  Philharmonic  concert 
of  the  season,  at  which  the  aged  Moscheles  appeared 
as  a  performer.  His  playing  "  of  his  own  concerto  in 
G-minor"  (said  George  Augustus  Sala  in  "The  Lon- 
don Illustrated  News "),  "one  of  his  finest  works,  was 
followed  by  acclamation  and  thunders  of  applause  from 
every  part  of  the  crowded  room,  prolonged  several 
minutes  after  he  left  the  orchestra,  and  quite  exciting 
enough  to  have  overpowered  one  less  accustomed  to 
public  enthusiasms.  .  .  .  Rossini's  great  air  from  '  Se- 
miramide,'  '  Bel-raggio,'  was  superbly  sung  by  Signora 
Guerrabella,  the  young  singer  newly  arrived  in  Eng- 
land, who  made  a  furore  at  the  last  Philharmonic,  a 
still  greater  furore  at  Madame  Anderson's  annual,  and 
last  night  materially  increased  her  growing  fame.  She 
is  an  embodiment  of  the  most  charming  characteristics 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  97 

of  literature  and  art,  speaks  nearly  as  many  languages 
as  Pic  cle  la  Mirandole  or  Cardinal  Mezzofanti ;  and, 
besides  singing,  draws,  paints,  sculpts,  and  dances  with 
genuine  merit,  and  is  the  young  and  beautiful  heroine 
of  one  of  the  strangest  and  most  romantic  dramas  of 
real  life  which  could  be  matched  anywhere  in  '  Les 
Mysteres  de  la  Russie.'" 

The  "Daily  News,"  "Morning  Chronicle,"  and  other 
journals  were  equally  cordial  in  her  praise.  All  opin- 
ions concurred  as  to  her  great  dramatic  talent ;  and  her 
familiarity  with  the  stage  was  assumed  and  asserted  as 
a  fact  accounting  for  her  astonishing  ease  and  grace, 
though  she  had  in  reality  never  played,  except  in 
opera.  The  press  were  not  alone  in  their  courteous 
welcome  to  the  young  debutante.  Letters  of  con- 
gratulation and  invitation  poured  in,  and  she  was  in- 
vited to  sing  at  the  Duchess  of  Northumberland's  and 
at  other  distinguished  private  gatherings.  At  one  of 
these,  Hogarth,  the  secretary  of  the  Philharmonic  So- 
ciety, and  the  operatic  critic  of  the  day,  was  asked  for 
his  opinion. 

"What  do  I  think  of  her?"  he  repeated.  "Why, 
what  every  one  must  think.  It's  not  enough  to  call 
her  the  new  Grisi ;  for  she  is  a  better  singer,  and  far 
more  beautiful,  than  Grisi !  " 

She  debuted  in  Royal  English  Opera  at  Covent- 
Garden  Theatre,  as  Maid  Marian  in  Mac  Farren's 
opera  of  "Robin  Hood."  Her  success  was  estab- 
lished as  an  opera-singer  of  the  very  first  quality  and 
rank.  Her  audiences,  both  select  and  large,  applauded 
her  to  the  echo ;  and  the  daily  press  continued  to 


98  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

indorse  the  public  verdict.  Even  "The  Athenaeum," 
notably  incapable  of  enthusiasm,  remarked  that  "  a  lady 
more  elegant  in  appearance  than  Madame  Guerrabella 
is  not  on  the  London  stage.  Her  voice  is  a  soprano 
of  sufficient  compass  and  power.  She  sings  with  re- 
finement and  feeling,  and  appears  to  have  been  trained 
according  to  good  methods.  Her  action,  too,  is  grace- 
ful and  sufficient." 

It  was  noticed,  that  she  played  the  famous  heroine 
Maid  Marian,  not  as  it  had  been  conceived  in  previous 
representations,  as  a  country  girl,  ill  qualified  to  rouse 
men  to  admiration  and  consistent  action ;  but  as  a 
lady  of  rank  and  station,  filled  to  inspire  the  ambitious 
love  of  Robin  Hood. 

This  quality  of  interpreting  character  on  the  highest 
plane  compatible  with  the  artistic  limitations  of  the 
case  has,  from  first  to  last,  admirably  distinguished 
Miss  Ward's  dramatic  conceptions :  as  in  her  latest 
achievement  as  the  Marquise  de  Mohrivart,  in  "  For- 
get Me  Not,"  we  have  not  the  vulgarly  artful,  quasi- 
pretty,  and  wholly  blase  woman  of  the  demi-monde ; 
but  the  far  more  subtle  interpretation  of  a  thoroughly 
and  skilfully  bad  woman,  who  is  at  the  same  time  a 
perfect  lady,  graceful,  finished,  and  dangerous  not  by 
ill-concealed  vice,  but  by  penetrating  charm  and  re- 
finement. 

Her  impersonation  of  Maid  Marian  brought  her 
many  private  congratulations. 

Mrs.  Hogarth,  wife  of  the  critic,  wrote  :  — 

"  I  must  congratulate  you  on  your  splendid  success  last  even- 
ing. Mrs.  Dickens  and  Helen  were  with  me  ;  and  we  really  did 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  99 

not  know  which  most  to  admire,  your  lovely  singing,  energetic 
graceful  acting,  or  yourself.  We  were  talking  it  over  at  break- 
fast this  morning,  and  saying  what  a  splendid  career  is  before 
you,  and  how  many  parts  you  will  do  beautifully." 

A  word  came  from  Mrs.  Cropsey,  wife  of  the  Ameri- 
can painter :  — 

"  I  have  heard  of  your  great  success  in  '  Robin  Hood,'  from 
several  friends  who  were  present.  They  say  you  were  splendid. 
•I  am  so  delighted  when  any  of  our  countrywomen  or  men  make 
a  success  in  London !  " 

The  celebrated  actress  Fanny  Stirling,  who  taught 
Madame  Guerrabella  in  "  Maritana,"  wrote  cordial 
congratulations,  closing  with  :  — 

"  You  are  on  the  high  road  to  fame  and  fortune,  all  that 
makes  life  pleasant.  There  is  but  little  left  to  do  for  you  by 
any  one,  or  by  yours  truly." 

The  following :  — 

"DEAR  FRIEND,  —  I  cannot  allow  many  hours  to  transpire 
before  I  congratulate  you  on  your  great  and  decided  success 
last  night.  Our  party  —  six  in  number  —  expressed  the  same 
opinion.  Indeed,  I  do  not  see  how  it  could  be  otherwise.  I 
had  all  my  eyes  open,  both  mentally  and  bodily,  as  well  as  my 
opera-glass,  so  as  to  find  fault  —  but  all  in  vain.  All  you  have 
now  to  do,  is  to  go  on  and  prosper,  which  is  a  sure  result." 

was  written  by  W.  J.  Newton,  miniature-painter  to  the 
Queen.  He  presented  his  painting  in  ivory,  of  the 
"  Coronation,"  to  the  National  Gallery. 

At  this  period  her  father's  consulate  at  Bristol  ex- 
pired, and  "  The  Daily  News  "  said,  — 

"  The  retiring  consul  leaves  Bristol  with  the  regret  and  the 
respect,  not  only  of  his  own  countrymen,  but  of  the  numerous 


100  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

friends  to  whom  he  has  endeared  himself  by  his  courtesy  and 
gentlemanly  bearing,  —  his  tact  and  ability  in  the  discharge  of 
duties  often  delicate  and  difficult.  During  Col.  Ward's  resi- 
dence among  us,  the  American  trade  has  increased  to  an  un- 
usual extent.  In  the  nine  months  ending  September  last,  the 
value  of  cargoes  imported  at  Bristol  has  exceeded  four  and 
one-half  millions;  the  number  of  vessels  has  been  105,  and  the 
tonnage  67,026.  The  total  imports  of  the  Bristol  Channel  for 
the  same  period  reached  to  $5,266,680;  the  vessels  were  406, 
and  the  tonnage  261,999.  As  many  as  6,500  seamen  have  come 
under  the  care  of  the  consulate,  and  we  do  not  recall  an 
instance  where  the  interference  of  the  magistrates  has  been 
necessary.  To  Col.  Ward,  indeed,  belongs  the  credit  of  having 
raised  the  consulate  to  a  position  of  dignity,  efficiency,  and  im- 
portance, which  has  surprised  every  one  acquainted  with  the 
circumstances.  He  will  especially  be  missed  by  the  poor  sea- 
men in  sickness  or  distress,  to  whose  needs  and  wishes  he  was 
ever  kind  and  attentive  ;  paying  for  them  always  at  the  general 
hospital  instead  of  giving,  as  he  might,  a  subscription  only  for 
their  admission  as  patients." 

Madame  Guerrabella's  success  as  Maid  Marian 
was  followed  by  an  equal  triumph  in  "  Maritana." 
During  the  holidays  she  sang  in  "The  Messiah,"  at 
Exeter  Hall,  appearing  for  the  first  time  in  oratorio. 
The  hall  was  hung  in  black  for  the  death  of  the  Prince 
Consort,  and  the  audience  was  composed  of  the  most 
distinguished  people  then  in  London. 

Moved  deeply  by  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion, 
Madame  Guerrabella  sang  "  I  rejoice  greatly  "  with 
such  passionate  animation  and  power,  her  thrilled 
audience  gave  way  before  it,  and  she  was  tumultu- 
ously  encored,  being  the  first  artiste  who  ever  received 
that  honor  in  singing  this  part  at  Exeter  Hall,  where 
encores  are  never  allowed. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  IOI 

"  The  News,"  "Musical  World,"  "Chronicle,"  "Tele- 
graph," "Post"  —  all  the  journals — were  unanimous 
and  emphatic  in  their  praise.  She  appeared  in  Dublin, 
Manchester,  and  the  provinces  during  the  winter  and 
ensuing  spring,  singing  with  increasing  favor  in  "  Lu- 
crezia  Borgia,"  "  Semiramide,"  and  "Maritana;"  her 
"  Qui  la  voce  "  and  "  Bel  raggio  "  especially  drawing 
unbounded  approval  from  all  critics  and  all  publics. 

There  is  abundant  testimony  that  there  was  a  pecu- 
liar quality  in  her  singing,  apart  from  all  that  art  could 
lend  it,  that  endued  it  with  certain  singular  and  special 
memorable  effects.  Madame  Colmache,  with  whose 
both  strong  and  brilliant  pen  the  readers  of  French 
and  English  journals  have  been  familiar  for  the  last 
quarter  of  a  century,  tells  me  that  these  effects  were 
produced  in  people  of  the  most  differing  temperaments 
and  occupations.  Only  recently  a  gentleman  of  stu- 
dious and  aesthetic  tastes,  a  listener  to  Grisi,  Parepa, 
Alboni,  and  Lind,  asked  Madame  Colmache  if  she 
knew  what  had  become  of  a  Madame  Guerrabella  who 
used  to  sing  in  London. 

"  Of  all  the  fine  singing  I  have  ever  heard,"  said 
he,  "  the  tones  of  that  lady's  voice  remain  with  me." 

To  their  surprise,  a  blunt  Scotch  body  turned  from 
the  trellis  he  was  repairing,  to  say,  — 

"  Ay,  ay,  thet  wer'  a  braw  lass,  wi'  a  voice  to  mak'  a 
mon  greet,  —  the  bonniest  i'  the  warld  !  " 

In  March,  on  the  splendid  occasion  of  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  fiftieth  season  of  the  Philharmonic  Society, 
she  sang  Mozart's  "  Parto  ma  tu  ben  mio,"  and  during 
April  appeared  in  Dublin  as  Mary  Wolf  in  Balfe's 


102  CENEVIEVE    WARD. 

opera,  "The  Puritan's  Daughter,"  and  in  May  de- 
buted in  Italian  opera  at  her  Majesty's  Theatre  as 
Elvira  in  Bellini's  famous  "  Puritani." 

The  great  tenor  Giuglini  was  announced  as  the 
Arturo  of  this  occasion.  At  the  moment  when  Ma- 
dame Guerrabella  was  to  appear  on  the  stage  as 
Elvira,  she  was  seen,  just  within  the  wing,  to  press 
her  hands  upon  her  temples  with  a  gesture  almost  of 
despair. 

She  had  only  at  that  moment  been  told  that  Giu- 
glini was  ill,  and  that  Signor  Bettini,  with  whom  she 
had  never  sung  or  rehearsed,  would  take  his  place. 

"  That  she  appeared  at  all  under  such  circum- 
stances," said  a  London  journal,  "was  most  credit- 
able. As  the  opera  proceeded,  she  had  again  and 
again  to  prompt  Bettini,  who  honorably  did  his  best 
in  the  trying  situation  into  which  he  had  been  thrust 
at  a  moment's  notice.  The  manner  in  which  she 
passed  through  this  ordeal  elicited  hearty  approbation 
from  all  quarters,  and  proved  that  her  qualifications 
for  the  lyric  drama  are  too  great  for  opposition,  if 
intended,  or  misfortune,  if  unavoidable,  to  exclude 
her  from  her  place." 

It  was  generally  rumored,  and  credited,  that  the 
sudden  indisposition  of  Giuglini  was  due  to  an  ungen- 
erous attempt  on  the  part  of  persons  envious  of 
Madame  Guerrabella's  unexampled  successes.  The 
attempt,  if  such  it  was,  served  chiefly  to  render  con- 
spicuous the  invincible  energy  and  courage  of  the 
young  singer.  Giuglini  soon  afterward  sang  with  her 
in  "  Don  Pasquale,"  in  which,  as  also  in  "  Les  Hugue- 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  103 

nots  "  and  "  Robert  le  Diable,"  she  was  received  with 
enthusiasm. 

At  last,  wearing  her  double  crown  of  English  and 
Continental  laurels,  she  went  to  be  heard  in  her  native 
land.  She  opened  the  autumn  season  in  the  Academy 
of  Music  in  New  York,  —  her  native  city,  —  singing 
with  Brignoli  in  "  La  Traviata,"  "  Figlia  del  Reggi- 
mento,"  "II  Trovatore,"  "Ballo  in  Maschera,"  and 
"  Favorita."  Then  to  Philadelphia,  and  again  in  the 
spring  at  the  Academy  in  New  York,  singing  with 
marvellous  success  in  "  lone  "  and  "  Semiramide." 

From  New  York  Madame  Guerrabella  went  to  Cuba, 
to  inaugurate  the  grand  opera  house  at  Matanzas,  and 
afterwards  appear  for  the  season  at  the  Tacon  in  Ha- 
vana. Her  repertoire  during  this  season  included  Nor- 
ma,  Martha,  Traviata,  Leonora,  Amelia,  Elvira,  etc. 
She  repeated  her  European  triumphs,  and  was  honored 
with  the  diploma  of  the  Philharmonic  Society  of  Cuba. 

But  the  unsparing  service  to  which  she  subjected 
her  vocal  powers,  singing  always  four,  often  five,  even- 
ings in  a  week  for  three  months,  through  the  exacting 
warmth  of  Cuban  weather,  proved  too  much. 

Suddenly,  in  the  midst  of  her  prosperous  engage- 
ments, her  voice  gave  way,  failing  abruptly  and  totally. 

No  trouble,  admitting  of  an  active  course,  could 
have  been  half  so  terrible  as  this  passive  submission 
to  silence,  for  this  buoyant  young  singer. 

In  alluding  to  this  heavy  period,  she  speaks  with 
strong  feeling  of  the  kindness  of  her  personal  friends  ; 
of  Mrs.  Cordelia  Sanford,  —  to  whose  nephew  George 
Riddle  is  chiefly  due  the  nobly  adequate  representa- 


104  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

tion  of  Greek  tragedy,  lately  witnessed  at  Cambridge, 
Mass. ;  and  whose  niece,  Kate  Field,  has  lent  lustre  to 
journalism  and  the  platform,  —  of  this  lady,  for  whom 
Corda  Lodge  was  named,  Miss  Ward  says,  — 

"  She  is  my  dear  friend  of  long  years  standing,  abiding  by  me 
in  all  my  fortunes,  changelessly  true.  And  Mr.  Sanford  is  just 
the  same :  when  he  was  here  in  England,  all  who  were  interested 
in  the  turf,  from  the  Prince  of  Wales  down,  were  delighted  with 
him.  Aunt  Corda  was  both  a  pupil  and  friend  of  Miss  Char- 
lotte Cushman,  who  taught  her  singing;  and  she,  in  her  turn,  for 
friendship's  sake,  taught  Adelaide  Phillips  when  she  was  a  little 
girl.  Her  continual  and  incessant  kindness  to  me,  her  sweet 
patience  under  illness,  her  generous,  unvarying,  faithful  belief 
in  me,  have  been  an  immense  inspiration  and  moral  support. 
Whenever  I  have  needed  help  of  any  kind,  they  have  helped 
me.  They  are  always  doing  good  in  the  quietest  but  most  real 
and  untiring  way ;  helpers  of  artists,  of  any  one  who  needed 
help." 

She  speaks  also  with  great  warmth  of  Mrs.  Reed 
of  New  York  City ;  of  Miss  Field ;  Miss  Adelaide  Phil- 
lips, whose  friendship  commenced  in  Cuba  when  they 
sung  fhere,  and  has  always  been  of  the  most  de- 
voted kind ;  of  Mrs.  Mygatt ;  and  of  many  others, 
whose  faithful  sympathy  has  been  her  chief  encour- 
agement. 

Her  fine  bust  of  Milton  H.  Sanford  (now  in  bronze), 
intended  for  Mrs.  Sanford  as  a  souvenir  of  grateful 
affection,  was  finished  by  Miss  Ward  in  July  of  the 
present  year,  1881 ;  and  Miss  Ward,  wrapped  in  a 
huge  blue  apron,  seated  before  it  giving  the  finishing 
touches,  was  a  charming  illustration  of  artistic  ani- 
mation. 


A   MISS   GENEVIEVE   WARD, 
Tragedienne, 

QUI  M'AVAIT  OFFERT  DE  LIRE  QUELQUES  VERS  DE 
MA  COMPOSITION. 

MES  vers  paraitront  beaux  sortant  de  votre  bouche; 

Comme  accompagnement  vous  leur  pretez  vos  yeux, 
Le  son  de  votre  voix  dont  le  charme  nous  touche, 

Et  cet  accent  du  coeur  qui  rend  tout  merveilleux ! 

Grlce  a  votre  talent  tout  est  delicieux  ; 

Que  le  regard  soit  vif,  tendre,  dur  ou  farouche ; 

S'il  se  voile  un  instant,  c'est  1'astre  qui  se  couche, 
Et  resplendit  encor  dans  1'ocean  des  cieux  I 

Tout  parait  noble  et  beau  quand  vous  versez  la  flamme 
Que  Dieu  comme  un  foyer  mit  au  fond  de  votre  ame, 

Afin  de  la  transmettre  a  tout  le  genre  humain  ! 
Heureux  cent  fois  1'auteur  de  votre  choix,  madarne, 
Vous  etes  grande  artiste  et  sedtiisante  fcmme, 

Et  c'est  vous  qui  de  Part  nous  tracez  le  chemin  ! 

CHARLES  BOISSIERE. 
20  NOVKMBRE,  1876. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  ID? 


V. 


WITH  the  loss  of  her  voice,  came  other  cares. 
Her  father  had  sustained  severe  reverses 
owing  to  the  war,  by  which  they  were  reduced  almost 
to  poverty.  He  was  out  of  health,  and  mentally  de- 
pressed. 

Knowing  that  she  could  never  again  take  a  first 
place  in  song,  it  was  not  in  her  nature  to  accept  a 
second.  Adelaide  Phillips,  divining  what  the  high- 
spirited  girl  was  suffering,  advised  her  to  go  on  the 
stage,  reminding  her  of  the  verdict  universally  passed 
on  her  dramatic  powers  in  opera.  Acting  on  this  truly 
friendly  and  wise  advice,  Madame  Guerrabella  went  to 
see  Lester  Wallack,  who  gave  her  a  difficult  scene  in 
"Wonder,"  saying  that  when  she  had  learned  it  he 
would  hear  her  recite  it. 

She  tried  to  learn  it,  but  she  was  doubting  and 
despondent. 

"  I  had  never  believed,"  said  Miss  Ward  to  me, 
"  that  I  could  commit  long  parts  to  memory.  I  had 
never  known  any  thing  by  heart,  except  the  Lord's 
Prayer  and  Pope's  Universal  Prayer,  —  to  me  the  most 
beautiful  ever  written,  though  many  people  seemed  to 
think  it  wicked.  These  I  did  know,  because  we  used 


108  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

to  repeat  them  en  famil/e,  when  we  were  children,  at 
the  breakfast-table.  Well,  I  gave  it  up,  and  did  not 
return  to  Mr.  Wallack  ;  and  in  this  way,  by  not  hearing 
me  at  once  in  any  thing  to  which  I  felt  equal,  and  so 
giving  me  a  little  encouragement,  he  unconsciously 
kept  me  for  the  time  from  the  stage." 

At  this  time  Miss  Ward  was  in  the  country,  endeav- 
oring to  recruit  her  health,  and  recover  her  voice ; 
but  finding  it  did  not  return  sufficiently,  and  discover- 
ing a  capacity  for  imparting  readily  what  she  knew, 
she  accepted  a  position  to  give  singing-lessons  at  Miss 
Haines's  well-known  Twentieth-street  School  in  New 
York  City.  The  senior  teacher,  Mrs.  Seguin,  was  ex- 
ceedingly kind  to  Madame  Guerrabella,  as  was  also 
Miss  Haines  and  her  partner  Mile,  de  Janon,  who  now 
carries  on  the  school  since  the  death  of  Miss  Haines. 

She  succeeded  well  in  these  labors ;  but  it  was,  after 
all,  a  forced  and  not  a  natural  occupation,  and  wore 
terribly  on  her  nerves. 

Miss  Phillips  again  came  to  the  rescue,  and  insisted 
on  her  quitting  this  drudgery,  and  trying  the  stage. 
Mrs.  Sanford,  the  Doremuses,  Kate  Field,  and  others 
coincided  warmly  in  this  counsel ;  and  at  last,  plucking 
up  heart,  Madame  Guerrabella  went  to  see  Miss  Fanny 
Morant,  and  engaged  her  services  as  dramatic  teacher ; 
at  the  same  time  continuing  her  own  singing-lessons 
during  the  day,  and  keeping  house  for  her  father 
(Mrs.  Ward  was  then  in  Paris),  and  sitting  up  nights 
to  learn  what  was  assigned  to  her. 

"  I  began  with.  Fazio,"  says  Miss  Ward ;  "  and  I  did 
actually  commit  fifty  lines  at  a  sitting.  When  I  an- 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  IOQ 

nounced  this  feat  to  Adelaide,  she  thought  it  marvel- 
lous, and  predicted  that  I  would  soon  learn  thoroughly 
two  hundred  lines  a  day.  A  good  actor  must  be  letter 
perfect,  but  cramming  is  injurious  to  the  artist.  My 
method  of  study  has  always  been  to  acquire  the  whole, 
so  that  from  the  whole  the  part  may  appear.  Then  I 
play  a  part  by  myself  till  I  conquer  it.  If  a  part  con- 
quers me,  —  and  I've  often  been  overcome  by  the  feel- 
ing I  was  portraying,  —  I  continue  to  play  it  until  I 
have  conquered  it.  I  have  never  deviated  from  this. 

"  For  Shakespeare,  I  have  always  read  every  thing 
that  great  German  and  other  critics  have  said,  and 
thereafter  formed  my  own  views,  and  acted  solely 
thereon ;  for,  chiefly  in  consequence  of  my  interest  in 
and  attendance  on  opera,  I  have  never  seen  any  of 
the  great  dramatic  roles  played  until  after  I  had  cre- 
ated and  played  them  for  myself;  although  I  have 
been  repeatedly  spoken  of  as  Ristori's  pupil,  and  she 
herself  calls  me  'La  mia  Doppia  '  (my  double)." 

After  six  months  of  study,  together  with  teaching  at 
Miss  Haines's,  and  housekeeping  for  her  father,  —  ris- 
ing at  six  A.M.,  and  not  retiring  till  midnight,  —  she  was 
prepared  with  the  following  fourteen  parts  :  — 


Lady  Macbeth.  Peg  Woffington. 

Beatrice.     ("  Much  Ado.")  Juliana  (in  "  Honeymoon  "). 
Hermione.  ("  Winter's  Tale.")  Madame  Fontange.     ("  Plot  and 
Portia.  Passion.") 

Lucrezia  Borgia.  Queen  Catherine. 

Adrienne  Lecouvreur.  Sheep  in  Wolf's  Clothing. 

Medea.  Bianca  (in  "  Fazio  "). 
Actress  of  Padua. 


HO  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

Miss  Morant  arranged  a  private  rehearsal  at  Bry- 
ant's Opera  House,  kindly  lent  by  Mr.  Bryant  for  the 
purpose,  and  invited  about  forty  persons,  friends  and 
critical  judges,  to  listen  to  Miss  Ward  in  scenes  from 
"Macbeth,"  and  Julia  in  "The  Hunchback."  Her 
little  audience  expressed  warm  admiration  and  flatter- 
ing prophecies,  but  nothing  came  of  it :  she  received 
absolutely  no  encouragement  to  attempt  the  stage  in 
America. 

With  spirits  hardly  recovered  from  the  terrible  blow 
of  the  loss  of  her  glorious  voice,  further  saddened  by 
the  failing  health  of  her  beloved  father,  by  the  wear- 
ing labor  of  an  uncongenial  occupation,  and  the  fatigue 
of  severe  dramatic  studies  pursued  in  hours  due  to 
sleep,  — to  be  confronted  with  "  nil"  as  the  result,  was 
a  test  for  the  bravest  fibre. 

She  met  the  crisis  as  conquering  spirits  do.  Deter- 
mined, that,  if  there  was  no  room  for  her  on  the  stage 
of  her  native  land,  she  would  seek  recognition  else- 
where, she  resumed  her  maiden  name,  —  having  just 
learned  of  the  death  of  Count  de  Guerbel,  —  and  went 
to  England,  where  her  first  step  was  to  give  private 
rehearsals  to  one  auditor,  a  critic  of  the  first  quality, 
—  her  mother. 

Satisfied  that  her  daughter  was  right,  Mrs.  Ward  set 
about  finding  or  making  the  proper  opening  for  her 
dramatic  career.  She  went  to  the  managers  of  the 
best  London  theatres,  and  to  dramatic  agents,  and 
stated  her  daughter's  qualifications. 

Each  had  all  the  stars  he  wanted ;  tragedy  was  out 
of  fashion :  one  replied,  "  What  we  want  nowadays 
are  young  girls  with  fine  physical  development." 


GENE  VIE  VE    WARD.  Ill 

Mrs.  Ward  next  went,  accompanied  by  her  daugh- 
ter, to  Mr.  Bateman  of  the  Lyceum ;  and  he,  after 
hearing  the  case,  wished  Miss  Ward  to  begin  at  the 
lowest  rung  of  the  ladder,  and  play  comedy.  Miss 
Ward  laughed. 

"  That  laugh  is  worth  a  thousand  pounds,"  said  Mr. 
Bateman,  "but  as  a  comedienne  !  " 

"  I'm  a  tragedienne,"  said  Miss  Ward,  "  and  not  a 
novice.  I  have  sung  in  opera,  and  have  always  been 
attrice  cantante,  and  I  mean  within  three  years  to  be 
an  acknowledged  great  tragedienne." 

Mr.  Bateman  laughed  this  time. 

But  Miss  Ward  laughed  best  and  last,  when,  in  less 
than  three  years  after  that  time,  "The  Manchester 
Guardian  "  pronounced  her  "  the  best  Lady  Macbeth 
since  Mrs.  Siddons  "  ! 

One  day  when  Mrs.  Ward,  who  had,  all  to  no  pur- 
pose, tried  every  manager  of  any  standing  in  London, 
was  considering,  nothing  daunted,  what  to  do  next,  a 
visitor  was  announced,  —  the  Hon.  Lewis  Wingfield, 
brother  of  the  Earl  of  Powerscourt,  a  cultivated  Eng- 
lish gentleman,  a  very  clever  playwright,  and  the  gen- 
tleman mentioned  by  Mrs.  Ward  as  having  been  of 
first-rate  helpfulness  upon  the  American  ambulance 
during  the  siege  of  Paris. 

"  Do  you  remember,  when  we  were  in  Paris,  how  I 
used  to  talk  to  you  about  the  beautiful  daughter  I  had 
in  America?  "  said  Mrs.  Ward. 

"  Perfectly  well,"  replied  Mr.  Wingfield  j  "and  I  hear 
from  Palgrave  Simpson  that  she's  not  only  a  beauty, 
but  a  fine  actress." 


112  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

"  So  she  is  ;  but  what's  the  use,  when  she  can't  get 
a  hearing?"  and  Mrs.  Ward  related  the  story  of  her 
rebuffs ;  and  Miss  Ward,  entering  from  the  garden,  was 
presented  to  Mr.  Wingfield,  who  assured  them,  that, 
notwithstanding  the  ill  success  thus  far  attending  their 
efforts,  he  felt  sure  she  could  obtain  a  fair  and  proper 
hearing,  and  he  would  see  what  he  could  do. 

He  went  with  them  to  the  Haymarket,  where  he 
had  himself  formerly  played,  Miss  Kate  Field  accom- 
panying them.  Mr.  Chippendale,  the  stage  manager, 
was  exceedingly  genial  until  Mr.  Wingfield  led  up  to 
the  real  object  of  the  visit,  and  proposed  that  Mr. 
Chippendale  should  hear  Miss  Ward  rehearse. 

Mr.  Chippendale  instantly  lost  his  genial  graceful- 
ness, moved  uneasily  about  on  his  chair ;  had  no  doubt 
of  the  lady's  qualification,  but  he  had  so  very  little 
time,  and  could  not  see  of  what  use  it  could  be  — 

"  But,"  persisted  Mr.  Wingfield,  very  much  aston- 
ished, "  she  wants  a  hearing  :  she  can't  possibly  make 
an  engagement  without  being  accorded  the  opportunity 
to  manifest  her  claims." 

"Certainly,  certainly,"  the  manager  agreed;  "but 
there  is  no  vacancy  at  the  Haymarket  now ;  and  while 
I  do  not,  I  assure  you,  entertain  the  least  doubt  of 
Miss  Ward's  qualifications,  as  there  could  be  no  irame- 
ate  purpose  served,"  etc. 

"  Do  not  be  discouraged,"  said  Mr.  Wingfield,  turn- 
ing to  Miss  Ward.  "  It  shall  not  be  said,  if  I  can  pre- 
vent it,  that  you  could  not  get  a  hearing  in  England, 
—  a  courtesy  due  to  any  aspirant  anywhere." 

He  was  as  good  as  his  word.     "  Determined  that 


WARD.  113 

the  prominent  London  critics  should  hear  the  talented 
American,"  said  Miss  Kate  Field,  who  was  there,  and 
knew  all  about  it,  "  Mr.  Wingfield  invited  them  to 
meet  her  at  the  charming  studio  adjoining  his  house 
in  Maida  Vale.  The  critics  assembled,  and  partook 
of  a  delicious  breakfast :  and  then  Miss  Ward  went 
through  a  trying  ordeal ;  she  recited  from  Lady  Mac- 
beth. Her  sleep-walking  scene  was  the  best  I  had 
ever  witnessed,  Ristori's  excepted;  and  Ristori  has 
since  seen  and  applauded  it." 

The  critics  were  taken  by  surprise ;  and  within  a 
few  days  Mr.  Wingfield  was  able  to  give  Miss  Ward  a 
batch  of  letters  which,  when  viewed  as  the  deliberate 
expression  of  the  effect  produced  by  her  acting,  — 
without  stage  support,  and  previous  to  a  dramatic 
debut,  —  upon  stage- worn  critics  not  her  personal 
friends,  are  certainly  remarkable,  and  must  have  given 
more  than  pleasure  to  Miss  Ward. 

The  critic  of  "  The  Hour  "  wrote  :  — 

"DEAR  WINGFIELD,  —  Miss  Ward  has  unquestionably  a 
large  share  of  dramatic  power.  I  do  not  altogether  like  her 
rendering  of  Lady  Macbeth,  but  that  may  be  prejudice.  She 
possesses  both  force  and  pathos,  has  a  good  stage  face  and 
figure,  and  makes  her  points  carefully  and  effectively.  In  a 
part  where  she  could  take  her  own  line,  without  running  against 
foregone  conclusions  of  her  audience,  she  might  be  expected 
to  make  a  decided  success." 

The  dramatic  critic  of  "The  Echo,"  after  thanking 
Mr.  Wingfield  for  the  opportunity  of  witnessing  Miss 
Ward's  acting,  wrote  :  — 

"It  struck   me   as   a  decidedly  interesting  performance, — 


114  CENEVIEVE    WARD. 

interesting  for  the  cultivation  of  its  style,  and  for  a  most  unu- 
sual command  of  gesture.  She  seems  specially  to  have  studied 
balance  and  harmony  of  movement.  To  pass  an  opinion  upon 
her  dramatic  prospects,  upon  one  performance  under  circum- 
stances necessarily  so  trying,  would  be  difficult ;  but  I  think  she 
would  quickly  take  her  place  above  most  of  the  actresses  now 
on  the  stage." 

"  Of  the  genuineness  of  Miss  Ward's  qualifications  for  mel- 
odrama [wrote  the  critic  of  "  The  Morning  Post "],  there  can 
not,  in  my  opinion,  be  any  doubt.  With  ample  store  of  passion 
for  that  particular  province  of  art,  she  unites  grace  of  fancy 
and  poetic  fervor  of  sentiment.  Her  voice  is  bright  and  sym- 
pathetic; and  her  action  —  wholly  free  from  the  vulgar  vice  of 
redundancy  —  is,  to  my  thinking,  exceedingly  picturesque  and 
impressive.  She  is  perfect  mistress  of  her  text;  and  her  gen- 
eral manner  strikes  me  as  being  very  ladylike  and  unaffected, 
invariably  bespeaking  that  valuable  quality  known  as  stage- 
repose,  which,  intimating  in  the  actress  complete  acquaintance 
with  the  range  of  her  powers,  '  begets  a  smoothness '  in  her  per- 
formance, and  enables  her  to  achieve  the  highest  amount  of 
effect  at  the  smallest  possible  cost  of  effort.  These  and  other 
merits,  combined  with  her  manifest  personal  advantages,  fairly 
entitle  her  to  success.  Such,  at  least,  is  my  judgment,  after 
carefully  observing  her  acting.  Perhaps  I  should  add,  that,  not 
having  the  pleasure  of  knowing  Miss  Ward,  my  opinion,  be  its 
value  what  it  may,  is  at  all  events  unswayed  by  considerations 
of  friendship." 

To  these,  Mr.  Wingfield  added  a  word  of  his  own 
as  dramatic  critic  of  "  The  Globe  :  "  — 

"  I  think,  dear  Miss  Ward,  that  your  reading  of  Lady  Mac- 
beth showed  marked  intelligence  of  a  very  high  order,  combined 
with  unusual  command  of  gesture  and  picturesque  movement ; 
I  think  that  you  possess  a  fine  presence  and  sonorous  voice, 
very  well  .adapted  to  the  higher  walks  of  serious  drama,  and 
that  when  opportunity  offers  you  will  take  your  stand  among 
the  small  group  of  our  best  English  actresses." 


GEXEVIEVE    WARD.  115 

As  a  result  of  this  timely  and  most  perfectly  per- 
formed kindness  on  Mr.  Wingfield's  part,  Miss  Ward 
was  able,  after  a  delay  of  some  months,  to  arrange 
with  Mr.  E.  English,  of  English's  Dramatic  Agency, 
to  make  her  debut  as  Lady  Macbeth  in  the  grand 
Shakspearian  revival  at  the  Theatre  Royal,  Manchester, 
Oct.  i,  1873. 

George  Augustus  Sala,  one  of  the  first  and  firmest 
of  her  London  friends ;  Mr.  Wingfield,  one  of  her 
wisest  friends ;  Tom  Taylor,  the  famous  playwright ; 
and  Wilkie  Collins,  —  had  told  Mrs.  Ward  that  two 
favorable- lines  on  Miss  Ward's  performance,  in  "The 
Manchester  Guardian,"  would  make  her. 

Mrs.  Ward  was  supposed  to  be  in  Paris,  on  the 
night  of  Miss  Ward's  debut;  but  she  crossed  the  Chan- 
nel without  notifying  anybody,  and,  reaching  Man- 
chester just  in  time,  slipped  quietly  into  the  theatre, 
took  a  seat  in  the  back  part  of  the  pit,  and  watched 
the  play  through  with  probably  the  most  critical  pair 
of  eyes  there.1 

When  it  was  over,  she  went  with  others  to  the  tra- 
gedienne's dressing-room.  The  latter's  maid  thought 
it  was  Mrs.  Ward's  ghost,  and  was  exceedingly  scared ; 
but  Miss  Ward  said,  without  any  expression  of  sur- 
prise, "Well,  mother,  was  it  good?" 

"  Some  of  it,  very,"  was  the  reply.     Mrs.  Ward  then 

1  An  envious  attempt  was  made  to  disconcert  her,  by  leaving  out  the  table 
on  which  the  candle  is  to  be  set  in  the  sleep-walking  scene.  She  saw  this  just 
at  the  moment  of  going  on,  and  exclaimed,  in  despair,  "Oh!  what  shall  I 
do?  "  —  "  You  can  drop  it,"  was  the  taunting  reply ;  but,  seeing  a  three-legged 
stool  in  the  wing,  she  quickly  placed  it  where  the  table  should  have  been,  and 
was  just  out  of  sight  in  time  as  the  curtain  rose. 


H6  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

pointed  out  to  her  certain  blemishes,  Miss  Ward's 
after-avoidance  of  which  was  observed  and  praised  by 
the  critics. 

Of  course  everybody  was  interested  to  see  "The 
Manchester  Guardian "  next  day ;  where,  instead  of 
the  "  two  favorable  lines  "  on  which  her  case  could 
stand,  was  found  a  column  of  noble,  critical  recogni- 
tion :  — 

"  Miss  Ward  is  to  be  congratulated  on  a  self-control  and  a 
thoroughness  in  the  work  of  rehearsal  which  form  a  phenom- 
enon in  themselves.  Perfect  ease,  and  a  most  scrupulously 
exact  knowledge  of  her  part,  must  be  conceded  to  the  debtttanle. 
.  .  .  She  has  a  voice  of  great  power ;  and  it  may  be  presumed 
that  she  is  indebted,  for  some  of  her  skill  in  managing  it,  to  her 
training  as  a  singer.  She  has,  besides,  a  good  accent  and  a 
fluent  utterance ;  her  features  are  expressive ;  and  she  gesticu- 
lates with  ease  and  grace.  ...  In  her  murderous  exhortations 
to  Macbeth,  she  was  savage  and  soothing  by  turns ;  and  thus, 
as  it  were,  made  the  one  manner  serve  to  show  the  other  in 
stronger  relief.  The  burst  almost  of  invective,  — 

'  What  beast  was  it  then 
That  made  you  break  this  enterprise  to  me ! ' 

was  all  the  more  terrible  because  of  the  womanly  softness  of 
the  utterances  immediately  preceding  it.  Her  hissing  whis- 
pers, again,  in  the  scene  following  the  murder,  made  a  similarly 
effective  contrast  with  the  full-toned  horror  of  Macbeth's,  — 

'  I  have  done  the  deed ! ' 

"This  scene  was,  indeed,  admirably  rendered  throughout. 
Artistic  perception  of  light  and  shade  marked  the  whole  of  the 
performance,  which,  from  first  to  last,  was  as  well  received  by 
a  large  and  discriminating  audience  as  even  the  actress  herself 
could  have  wished." 

The   "  Examiner,"  "  Courier,"  and   other  journals, 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  1 1/ 

spoke  to  the  same  effect ;  and  private  congratulations 
flowed  in.     One  hearty  little  note  said,  — 

"  Just  a  few  lines,  dear  friend,  in  a  great  hurry.  I  saw  '  The 
Guardian,'  and  am  delighted.  Wrote  of  your  success  to 
America.  Hurrah  1  Yours  sincerely, 

CARL  ROSA." 

After  playing  Lady  Macbeth  for  several  weeks,  Miss 
Ward  next  essayed  Queen  Constance,  in  "  King  John," 
with  like  results.  Charles  Sever,  whose  articles  over 
the  signature  of  ".An  Old  Play-goer  "  were  esteemed 
among  the  ablest  dramatic  criticisms  of  the  day,  wrote 
in  "The  Manchester  Examiner  and  Times  :  "  — 

"  It  is  obvious  that  Miss  Ward  is  endowed  with  great  men- 
tal powers,  to  which  high  culture  has  imparted  a  refinement 
now  somewhat  rare  on  the  stage. 

"  Her  perceptive  powers  enable  her  to  seize  and  appreciate 
the  most  subtle  phases  of  passion  and  sentiment ;  and  her  pol- 
ished—  I  may  venture  to  say,  almost  faultless  —  elocution,  and 
forcible  dramatic  expression,  to  deliver  tne  text  so  as  fully  to 
realize  her  conception.  Her  by-play,  too,  is  equally  intelligent, 
expressive,  and  illustrative  of  the  stage  business  in  which  she 
is  taking  no  actual  part,  and  which  always  shows  the  true  artist 
as  much  as  the  more  distinct  efforts.  Her  dying  scene  as 
Queen  Constance,  in  '  King  John,'  is  one  of  the  finest  pieces  of 
tragic  pathos  now  on  the  stage,  or  within  my  recollection." 

But  the  harvest  she  reaped  was  solely  of  laurels ; 
Mr.  English  having  stipulated  in  advance  that  the 
entire  proceeds  of  her  labors  must  be  paid  to  him  in 
return  for  securing  her  the  opportunity  of  a  first 
appearance.  For  the  sake  of  this  opportunity,  Miss 
Ward  accepted  these  preposterous  terms,  before  begin- 
ning her  engagement,  which,  as  a  dramatic  debut  in 


,  j  g  GENE  VIE  VE    WARD. 

Shakspearian  r6Us,  was  an  almost  unprecedented  tri- 
umph. Mr.  English  had  the  hardihood  to  exact  his 
Shylock's  bargain  to  the  full,  and,  after  its  termina- 
tion, was  quite  ready  with  further  offers  of  service. 

She  debuted 'in  Dublin,  Nov.  17,  1873,  in  the  Eng- 
lish version  of  Victor  Hugo's  "  Lucrezia  Borgia ;  "  and 
the  critics  praised  her  warmly.  "  The  Irish  Times  " 
said,  — 

"An  imposing  presence,  a  distinguished  bearing,  a  musical 
and  sympathetic  voice,  excellent  elocutionary  powers;  fine 
features,  mobile  and  expressive,  capable  of  at  once  depicting 
intense  passion  or  deep  pathos,  —  with  such  advantages  as 
these,  it  can  easily  be  understood  that  Miss  Ward's  representa- 
tion of  the  character  of  Lucrezia  Borgia  was  very  impressive, 
and  highly  successful :  she  worked  out  the  dramatist's  concep- 
tion with  consummate  ability." 

And  "  The  Dublin  Daily  Express  "  thought  that  she 
"  manifested,  all  through,  a  depth  and  intensity  of  feel- 
ing, an  earnestness  of  expression  and  action,  fully 
equal  to  Mile.  Beatrice  or  Miss  Bateman,  and  little 
inferior  to  Ristori." 

Among  the  kind  things  said  of  her  labors  at  this 
time,  a  most  peculiar  compliment  was  paid  her  acting 
as  Lucrezia,  at  Newcastle-upon-Tyne.  A  man  in  the 
audience,  who  was  very  much  intoxicated,  began  by 
applauding  her  with  offensive  frequency  and  abrupt- 
ness, but  gradually  became  sitent  till,  suddenly  clinch- 
ing his  hands  in  his  hair,  he  cried  out  in  in  a  very 
different  and  startling  tone,  — 

"  By  God  1  that  woman  makes  me  sober  ! " 

Of  her  playing  as  Adrienne  Lecouvreur,  "  The  Irish 
Times  "  said,  — 


K  }VARD  1 19 

"  Of  the  acting  of  Miss  Genevieve  Ward,  the  gifted  Ameri- 
can tragedienne  who  has  been  with  us  the  past  week,  we  could 
hardly  speak  too  highly.  In  the  many  scenes  which  call  for  the 
exercise  of  the  power  of  representing  the  extremes  of  passion, 
she  has  proved  herself  fully  able  to  impersonate  the  agony  of 
grief,  the  expression  of  offended  and  rejected  love,  and  the 
rapid  transitions  of  that  mysterious  and  unanalyzable  feeling, 
which  mixes  itself  in  nearly  every  transaction  of  human  life." 

The  "Journal "  and  "  Mail  "  spoke  at  length  to  the 
same  effect ;  and  "  The  Irish  Echo  "  compared  her 
Medea  favorably  with  that  of  Ristori's  recent  per- 
formance at  the  same  theatre  in  the  same  rdle.  "  The 
Times  "  said,  "  Miss  Ward's  Medea  rose  to  the  high- 
est level  of  histrionic  art ;  "  and  "  The  Mail "  thought 
"  her  acting  in  the  last  scene  faultless  and  singularly 
striking." 

She  appeared  as  Thisbe  in  Victor  Hugo's  "  Actress 
of  Padua,"  successfully;  and  as  Medea,  in  Hull,  she 
won  great  triumphs. 

All  this  victory  in  the  provinces,  however,  meant 
nothing  previous  to  a  London  verdict ;  and  her  friend 
George  Augustus  Sala  wrote  the  following  letter  to 
Mr.  Chatterton,  manager  of  the  Adelphi :  — 

68  THISTLE  GROVE,  BROMPTON, 
March  10,  1874. 

MY  DEAR  CHATTERTON,  —  I  venture  to  write  to  you  as 
strongly  as  ever  I  am  able,  in  the  hope  that  I  may  interest  you 
(managerially,  now  you  have  taken  the  Adelphi  really  in  hand) 
on  behalf  of  my  friend  Miss  Genevieve  Ward.  This  lady  has 
been,  I  believe,  already  made  known  to  you ;  but  she  is  anxious 
that  I  should  personally  place  her  views  before  you,  since  I 
have  known  her  from  her  girlhood,  and  should  be  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  her  dramatic  capacity.  She  was  at  the  outset 


I2O  (.I-..VEVIEVE    WARD. 

of  her  career  a  prima  donna,  and  as  such  has  appeared  with 
applause  in  all  the  great  opera-houses  of  England,  the  Con- 
tinent, and  America,  and  in  our  own  Exeter  Hall  oratorios. 

cquently  she  studied  sedulously  for  the  stage,  and  re- 
cently has  made  very  successful  appearances  in  Dublin,  Man- 
chester, Hull,  etc.,  in  tragic  parts  such  as  Lucrezia  Borgia, 
Adricnne  Lecouvreur,  Lady  Macbeth,  etc.  She  is  an  intimate 
friend  of  Ristori,  and,  for  the  matter  of  that,  could  play  as  well 
in  Italian,  French,  or  Spanish,  as  in  English ;  but  this  is 
beside  the  point. 

Tragedy  is  now  her  forte ;  and  for  this  she  has  an  admirable 
countenance,  figure,  and  bearing. 

Still  I  think  there  is  likewise  a  genuine  vein  of  comedy  in 
her,  and  that  under  Adelphi  influences  there  is  all  the  making 
of  a  first-rate  melodramatic  actress  in  her,  of  the  calibre  of 
Miss  Kelley  and  Mrs.  Yates,  whom  I  can  just  remember,  but 
whom  you  perhaps  cannot  recollect  at  all.  Besides  this,  she 
is  a  thoroughly  intelligent,  accomplished  woman,  who  has  seen 
the  world,  and  mingled  in  it,  in  every  phase,  —  an  artist,  a 
linguist,  a  musician.  She  wants  a  working  dtbttt,  that  she  may 
let  you  and  the  public  know  of  what  stuff  she  is  made.  If  you 
can  do  any  thing  practical  to  meet  her  views,  you  will  place  me 
under  a  real  obligation  to  you. 

The  immediate  result  of  this  letter  was  the  engage- 
ment of  Miss  Ward  to  play  at  the  Adelphi,  as 
Unarita  in  "The  Prayer  in  the  Storm,"  a  melodrama 
originally  called  the  "The  Sea  of  Ice."  This  play 
was  booked  for  a  fortnight  as  a  stop-gap ;  but  Miss 
Ward's  inimitable  Unarita  kept  it  on  the  stage  before 
crowded  houses  for  six  months,  and  the  critics  had 
not  written  with  such  warmth  and  unanimity  for  many 
a  day.  She  was  pronounced  fully  equal  to  Madame 
Celeste,  who  had  in  the  first  instance  made  the  part 
famous.  "  The  Mayfair  "  said  it  had  — 


GENEVIEVE    WAKD.  121 

"  But  one  word  of  praise,  and  that  is  for  Miss  Ward,  whose 
skilful  acting  saves  from  utter  condemnation  a  drama  not 
worth  redemption." 

Besides  the  congratulations  of  her  English  friends, 
she  received  in  pleasant  letters  from  America  —  among 
others  a  very  kind  one  from  her  old  friends  of  the 
Haines  School,  Anne  Seguin,  and  Mile.  Janon  — 
proofs  that  many  in  her  native  land  rejoiced  in  her 
hardly-earned  triumphs.  Her  valued  and  valuable 
friend  Hon.  Lewis  Wingfield  wrote,  — 

"  I  congratulate  you  on  your  notices.  Out  of  seven  that  I 
have  seen,  all  are  favorable,  —  a  very  unusual  thing  in  London  1 
The  result  is,  that  Chatterton  will  of  course  want  to  make  a 
fixture  of  you." 

Miss  Ward's  pay  for  having  made  such  a  success  of 
a  piece  intended  only  for  a  stop-gap  was  not  in- 
creased. 

In  October,  1874,  she  played  successfully  at  the 
Crystal  Palace,  as  Julia  in  Sheridan  Knowles's  "  Hunch- 
back." Meantime  the  press  began  to  comment  ear- 
nestly on  the  fact  that  such  an  artist  as  Miss  Ward  was 
compelled,  in  order  to  secure  a  foothold  on  the  Lon- 
don stage,  to  accept  parts  so  in  every  way  inferior  to 
her  capacity.  Of  her  expected  advent  at  Drury  Lane, 
"  The  Era  "  said,  — 

"  We  see  that  Miss  Genevieve  Ward,  who  has  been  playing 
with  great  success  in  London  in  the  regular  drama,  is  to  appear 
at  Drury  Lane  on  the  I5th  of  February,  1875,  as  Rebecca,  in 
the  grand  spectacular  drama  of  '  Ivanhoe.'  The  character  is 
admirably  suited  to  the  lady ;  her  strongly  defined  Asiatic  fea- 


,22  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

turcs,  graceful  action,  and  splendid  diction,  all  promising  to 
render  her  impersonation  the  perfect  realization  of  Scott's 
ideal.  There  is  no  actress  on  the  English  or  American  stage, 
at  present,  whose  talents  and  accomplishments  warrant  so  wide 
a  range  of  parts  as  this  actress  can  undertake.  Her  tragic 
powers  are  of  the  highest  order,  as  was  shown  by  her  Lady 
Macbeth  and  Lucrezia  Borgia,  in  Manchester  and  Dublin ;  and 
in  high  comedy  she  has  few  rivals.  No  better  evidence  of 
versatility  can  be  adduced  than  her  resuscitation  of  the  old 
worn-out  melodrama,  '  The  Sea  of  Ice,'  at  the  Adelphi,  and 
which,  owing  to  her  remarkable  impersonation,  had  a  six- 
months  prosperous  run  during  a  period  of  unexampled  theat- 
rical dulness.  She  accepted  the  part  to  obtain  an  appearance 
in  London,  and  rendered  it  so  profitable,  that  the  management 
with  difficulty  consented  to  her  playing  high-comedy  parts  at 
the  afternoon  performances  at  the  Crystal  Palace." 

Great  praise,  seasoned  with  some  carping,  accompa- 
nied her  acting  as  "  Rebecca,"  concerning  which  Mr. 
Wingfield  wrote :  — 

"  I  called  in  at  the  Arundel,  late,  to  hear  how  the  perform- 
ance had  gone,  and  was  glad  to  find  a  satisfactory  verdict  from 
all  the  critics  present.  They  are,  by  education,  a  phlegmatic  set ; 
but  said  your  performance  was  very  striking  indeed,  picturesque, 
better  than  Miss  Neilson's ;  that  where  you  erred  was  always 
on  the  right  side,  —  I  mean,  in  avoiding  clap-trap  and  rant,  — 
which,  from  so  cold-blooded  a  se£,  is  no  inconsiderable  compli- 
ment." 

She  was  warmly  received  in  Newcastle,  where  she 
played  at  the  Tyne  Theatre.  At  Dundee  she  made 
her  first  appearance  in  May,  as  the  Countess  Thecla, 
in  Mr.  Wingfield's  play,  "  Despite  the  World."  The 
story  concerns  the  court  and  period  of  Frederick  the 
Great,  "  and  was  written,"  says  Miss  Kate  Field,  "  at 


GENEVIEVE    WARD  123 

Ristori's  suggestion.  When  Miss  Ward  expressed  a 
wish  for  something  new,  the  great  Italian  recommended 
one  of  her  pieces,  '  Cuore  ed  Arte?  — '  Heart  and 
Art.'  Finding  the  Italian  play  utterly  unmanage- 
able in  English,  Mr.  Wingfield,  to  whom  the  task  of 
adaptation  had  been  assigned,  turned  to  the  Italian 
novel  on  which  '  Heart  and  Art '  was  founded,  and 
evolved  an  infinitely  better  comedy-drama." 

Miss  Ward's  impersonation  of  Sappho,  in  Mr.  W. 
G.  Wills's  play  of  that  name,  received  the  highest 
encomium.  She  played  this  in  Dublin,  and  also  ap- 
peared as  Portia,  and  as  Pauline  in  "The  Lady  of 
Lyons,"  and  in  "Lucrezia  Borgia;  "  and  on  the  night 
of  June  1 8,  1875,  she  played  Medea,  and  the  two 
last  acts  of  "  The  Merchant  of  Venice,"  in  honor  of 
the  American  Rifle  Team,  at  the  Gaiety,  Dublin. 

"  As  the  Americans  entered  the  theatre,  the  orches- 
tra played  '  Hail  Columbia ; '  and  Miss  Ward,  dressed 
in  a  complete  ancient  Irish  costume  of  white,  robe 
and  mantle,  trimmed  with  green  and  gold,  with  tiara, 
brooch  and  armlets  complete,  and  having  in  her  hand 
the  wand  and  ring  which  Moore  has  rendered  famous," 
recited  the  poetical  address  composed  by  Dr.  S.  D. 
Elrington  for  the  occasion  :  — 

"  Robed  as  Hibernia's  daughter,  lo  !  I  stand, 
Like  you,  a  guest  in  dear  old  Ireland. 
Ye  riflemen,  by  favor  of  our  guns, 
Columbia's  daughter  hails  Columbia's  sons. 
Had  I  ten  thousand  hands,  with  all  I'd  meet  ye, 
Had  I  ten  thousand  tongues,  with  welcome  greet  ye ; 
Though  time  and  space  may  seem  to  interpose, 
And  'twixt  our  shores  a  cruel  ocean  flows, 


I..VJ  i,K.\Kl'll--'.-K    ll'ARD. 

With  magic  wand  I  touch  the  electric  springs; 

An  instant  a  responsive  answer  brings, 

Which  proves,  however  distant  be  each  land, 

Both  nations  are  united  heart  and  hand. 

Our  sires,  by  famine  and  by  wrongs  opprest, 

Found  ever  shelter  in  the  glorious  West ;  • 

And  in  their  children's  hearts  left  still  enshrined 

The  love  of  home,  that  distance  could  not  blind. 

Then,  by  their  honored  ashes,  by  their  graves, 

We  greet  you  brothers  from  across  the  waves,— 

Brothers  in  blood,  as  well  as  hearts  and  speech, 

Brought  here  together  by  our  favorite  leech, 

Welcome,  then  welcome ;  and  a  happy  time, 

Marred  by  no  weeping  from  our  tearful  clime, 

We  wish  propitious  skies  ;  yet  still  we  deem 

The  reigning  favorite,  the  rifle  team. 

Come  to  our  feast ;  with  love  our  hearts  are  full ; 

The  fatted  calf  we'll  kill,  — it  is  a  bull. 

Soon,  when  arrayed  in  contest,  you  may  try 

The  metal  of  that  bull,  — but  mind  his  eye. 

Ye  strive  in  friendship  ;  if  you  win,  you'll  meet 

No  heartier  cheering  than  from  those  you  beat 

And.  if  your  brothers  win,  you  won't  despair  1 

You  still  have  left  a  younger  brother's  share. 

Ireland,  in  either  case,  is  doubly  blest : 

She  wins  the  most,  in  losing  to  her  guest. 

Oh,  may  the  spirits  of  the  blessed  dead  — 

O'Connell,  on  whose  tomb  warm  tears  are  shed, 

And  Washington,  with  all  that  noble  throng, 

Whose  names  are  ever  an  unceasing  song, 

Who  strove  for  liberty,  —  now  by  you  stand, 

And  silent  bless  each  patriotic  band ! 

And  so  we  welcome  you,  with  hands,  hearts,  eyes,  — 

Cead  mille  failthe,  echoes  to  the  skies." 

"  None  but  genius  of  the  highest  class  can  touch  or  attempt 
4  Medea '  without  failing  [said  "  The  Dublin  Mail"].  The  play 
is  a  touchstone ;  and  the  hush  of  silence,  the  shudder  of  sym- 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  125 

pathetic  fear,  and  the  enthusiastic  bursts  of  applause,  that 
marked  the  progress  of  the  piece,  leave  no  doubt  of  the  fact 
that  not  here  alone,  but  in  America,  Miss  Ward's  reputation 
as  the  first  tragedienne,  the  successor  of  Miss  Cushman,  is 
made.  .  .  .  '  Yankee  Doodle  '  was  played  by  the  orchestra  as  a 
closing  air,  and  the  team  left  the  theatre  amidst  a  vast  crowd 
and  tremendous  cheering.  To-night  the  team  will  again  visit 
the  theatre  on  the  occasion  of  Miss  Ward's  benefit,  when 
'Medea'  will  be  again  performed,  and  'The  Honeymoon,' in 
which  Mr.  John  H.  Bird  will  take  a  part.  We  expect  Mr.  Bird, 
an  American  barrister,  will  show  the  Irish  bar  what  amateur 
acting  may  be." 

Mr.  Bird  fulfilled  the  expectation  brilliantly. 

"The  distinguished  American  advocate,  Mr.  Bird,  who  is 
regarded  as  the  best  amateur  actor  in  his  own  country  [said 
"  The  Dublin  Mail "]  gave  us  the  best  Duke  Aranza  we  have 
seen.  He  has  the  merit  of  being  a  gentleman  in  all  his  minor 
actions,  and  this  gives  to  his  playing  a  finish  and  perfection 
rarely  seen  on  the  professional  stage." 

During  June  she  was  also  playing  in  Manchester, 
with  splendid  success,  in  "  Despite  the  World."  Of 
the  play  itself,  a  critic  wrote  :  — 

"  From  a«  careful  perusal  we  do  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  it 
a  production  of  rare  merit,  well  conceived,  admirably  written, 
and  with  a  noble  purpose.  Such  plays  as  this  lift  the  stage 
above  the  category  of  mere  amusement,  and  rank  it  with  insti- 
tutions of  popular  education." 

Ristori  wrote  to  her  from  America  :  —  ("translation] 

"  We've  received  the  papers,  and  all  been  in  your  happiness 
with  you.  We  see  your  great  future,  dear.  You  so  deserve  a 
happy  fate,  that  in  truth  you  will  not  have  stolen  it  when  it 
comes.  Just  think  of  your  delight  in  having  your  mother  with 
you!  Oh!  if  I  could  only  be  with  you  two  months,  I'm  sure  I 


126  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

should  learn  the  whole  part  of  Macbeth.  Others  have  offered 
to  teach  it  me,  but  I  have  not  the  confidence  that  they  would 
be  like  your  mother.  She  is  so  patient,  intelligent,  correct, 
artistic,  and  I  will  say  mechanical,  because  no  other  word  will 
express  my  idea.  To  teach  a  tongue  as  difficult  as  that  of  the 
ancient  English  poetry,  you  must  know  the  system  of  the  move- 
ments of  the  throat  and  palate ;  for  which  I  do  not  use  ill  the 
word  '  mechanical.' " 

While  playing  in  the  provinces  in  the  summer  and 
autumn  of  1875,  Miss  Ward  was  in  negotiation  with 
Max  Strakosch  for  a  tour  of  the  United  States.  She 
accepted  his  terms ;  but  he  failed  to  send  the  contract 
in  season,  and  she  continued  to  play  in  the  provinces. 
Of  her  Bianca  in  "  Fazio,"  which  was  strongly  praised, 
Mr.  Wingfield  wrote  :  — 

"Just  a  word,  dear  Miss  Ward,  to  say  that  Clayton  and  I 
were  delighted  with  your  Bianca.  .  .  .  Nothing  could  be  more 
charming  than  the  series  of  attitudes ;  and  in  the  pathetic  por- 
tions I  am  quite  certain  there  is  no  one  on  the  stage  who  could 
at  all  touch  them." 

In  December  she  filled  the  exacting  rdk  of  Antig- 
one, at  the  Crystal  Palace ;  and  the  "  Figaro  "  said,  — 

"  It  was  upon  Miss  Ward  that  the  weight  of  the  burden 
mostly  lay.  How  deeply  and  conscientiously  she  must  have 
studied  the  part,  was  most  manifest.  Not  once  did  the  lady 
falter.  Her  delivery  was  correct  and  refined ;  and  the  depth  of 
pathos,  and  the  poignancy  of  grief,  were  contrasted  at  the 
proper  moments  with  the  power  of  religious  determination, 
and  the  most  heart-rending  representation  of  utter  despair." 

The  correspondent  of  "The  New  York  Tribune" 
said, — 

"  The  production  of  Antigone  has  given  that  handsome  and 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  12  J 

clever  American,  Miss  Genevieve  Ward,  an  opportunity  to 
show  power  in  the  ungracious  character  of  a  sketch  from  the 
antique.  She  plays  Antigone  with  the  serious  grace,  reserve, 
and  occasional  force  called  for  by  the  text;  and  her  stately 
figure,  large  fine  features,  and  deep  contralto  voice,  suit  well 
the  sad  and  queenly  heroine.  By  dint  of  quiet  yet  passionate 
simplicity  she  has  succeeded  in  making  Antigone's  lament, 
before  her  living  entombment,  a  really  affecting  piece  of  acting, 
and  that  is  not  an  easy  thing  to  do." 

Early  in  1876  Col.  J.  W.  Forney,  United  States 
Centennial  Commissioner  in  Europe,  received  the  fol- 
lowing letter :  — 

21  PRINCES  ST.,  HANOVER  SQUARE. 
Jan.  18, 1876. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Before  your  departure  for  America,  I  have 
great  pleasure  in  offering  my  professional  services  in  aid  of  the 
Centennial  Fund.  Should  this  proposition  be  agreeable  to  you, 
I  will  organize  a  performance  of  "  Macbeth  "  at  Drury  Lane  on 
Friday,  Feb.  4,  Mr.  Chatterton  having  generously  offered  h:s 
theatre  for  the  occasion. 

Yours  sincerely, 

GENEVIEVE  WARD. 

To  which  Col.  Forney  replied,  — 

FENTON*S  HOTEL,  Jan.  20, 1876. 

MY  DEAR  Miss  WARD,  —  Your  letter  of  the  i8th  was  an 
agreeable  surprise,  and  is  particularly  welcome,  not  only  as 
showing  your  praiseworthy  patriotism,  but  your  readiness  to 
follow  the  example  of  your  distinguished  countryman,  Mr.  John 
S.  Clarke,  who,  more  than  a  year  ago,  contributed  a  large  sum 
to  the  Centennial  Fund.  Your  liberal  proposal  is  particularly 
appropriate,  as  being  the  first  Centennial  dramatic  representa- 
tion in  the  great  city  of  London.  Of  course  I  gratefully  accept 
your  proposition ;  and  I  am  much  gratified  to  add,  that,  since 
the  receipt  of  your  letter,  I  have  consulted  Robert  S.  Schenck, 


128  GENEVIEVE    WAKD. 

American  minister,  and  Gen.  Adam  Badeau,  American  consul ; 
both  of  whom  have  cordially  undertaken  to  recommend  your 
praiseworthy  enterprise  to  the  public." 

By  the  kind  co-operation  of  Messrs.  J.  S.  Clarke, 
J.  B.  Buckstone,  J.  Hare,  H.  Neville,  F.  C.  Burnand, 
C.  Rice,  W.  R.  Field,  Parravicini,  W.  Corbyn,  and 
F.  B.  Chatterton,  all  leading  managers  of  London,  an 
admirable  cast  was  secured,  and  the  play  was  presented 
under  the  invaluable  personal  superintendence  of  Mr. 
Edward  Stirling. 

Though  it  was  unintelligently  remarked  that  with 
such  support  Miss  Ward  could  hardly  fail  to  appear  to 
advantage,  it  is  obvious  that  she  could  have  given  no 
prouder  challenge  to  a  public  slow  in  receiving  the 
new,  but  magnificent  in  its  recognition  when  once 
convinced.  To  shine  in  such  a  setting,  was  to  prove 
herself  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude.  Her  triumph 
was  grand,  artistically  and  financially.  Some  of  the 
critics  praised  grudgingly ;  but  the  more  effectively  for 
that  very  reason,  since  unwilling  admiration  proves  the 
power  that  compels  it.  Motives  underlying  covert 
opposition  to  success  are  never  far  to  seek. 

"  The  Daily  Telegraph  "  said,  "  Miss  Ward's  Lady 
Macbeth  is  unrivalled."  "The  Dublin  Telegraph" 
thought  — 

"  The  whole  conception  of  the  character  by  this  gifted  actress 
was  strictly  in  accordance  with  the  idea  by  which  it  must  have 
been  originated  in  Shakspeare's  mind.  Nothing  could  be  more 
refined  or  dignified  than  her  whole  tenue  at  the  banquet-scene, 
—  no  hurry,  no  f ussiness,  no  weak  fear  of  consequences  either. 
But  the  assumed  calm,  which  the  audience  was  allowed  to  see, 


GENE VI EVE    WARD.  I2Q 

was  only  assumed,  as  she  tried  to  divert  the  attention  of  the 
guests,  called  down  thunders  of  applause,  and  really  established 
Miss  Ward  as  the  first  emotional  tragedienne  of  the  day.  After 
the  performance,  Miss  Ward  was  recalled ;  and  the  American 
fashion  of  handing  baskets  of  flowers  from  the  boxes,  and 
throwing  bouquets  adorned  with  long  streamers  of  gay-colored 
ribbons,  served  to  convey  the  admiration  inspired  by  a  perform- 
ance which  certainly  ranks  Miss  Ward  amongst  the  first  Shake- 
spearian actresses  of  the  day." 

"The  Era,"  "Weekly  Messenger,"  "Figaro/' and 
others  were  warmly  appreciative;  and  "The  Post" 
said  that  nothing  had  equalled  her  playing  since  the 
days  of  the  great  Siddons. 

"The  Court  Journal"  mentioned  that  Baring  & 
Brothers  paid  a  hundred  pounds  for  a  box ;  Morgan  & 
Co.,  fifty  pounds ;  Morton,  'Rose,  &  Co.,  fifty  pounds ; 
Seligman,  twenty  pounds ;  and  J.  P.  Bigelow,  ten 
pounds. 

Soon  after  the  Centennial  Fund  benefit,  Miss  Ward 
received  the  following  letter  :  — 

FENTON'S  HOTEL,  Feb.  12, 1876. 

MY  DEAR  Miss  WARD,  —  The  proceeds  of  your  benefit  for 
the  Centennial  Fund,  enclosed  in  your  favor  of  this  date,  were 
immediately  forwarded  to  the  chairman  of  the  Centennial  Fi- 
nance Committee  at  Philadelphia. 

I  will  not  stop  to  dwell  on  your  splendid  performance  of 
Lady  Macbeth,  nor  of  the  able  assistance  of  your  profes- 
sional associates ;  but  only  add,  that  it  is  to  your  own  energy 
and  perseverance  in  organizing  your  noble  benefit,  with  all  the 
heavy  details  and  obstacles,  and  to  your  appeals  to  your  own 
countrymen  to  join  you  in  a  good  cause,  that  this  noble  and 
patriotic  triumph  is  due.  With  my  best  wishes  for  your  success 
in  al!  future  undertakings,  I  remain  very  truly  yours, 

J.  W.  FORNEY. 


130  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

In  May,  after  playing  in  her  great  rdles  in  Liverpool, 
she  received  from  the  famous  Dr.  Hitchman  a  letter 
of  congratulation,  in  which  he  said,  — 

"  I  think  I  shall  give  a  public  lecture  on  the  tragedies  of 
Euripides,  with  special  reference  to  the  Medea  of  your  un- 
rivalled histrionic  powers.  In  my  opinion,  that  is  the  char- 
acter for  your  high  dramatic  walk.  ...  I  shall  never  forget 
your  surpassing  intellectual  accomplishments  last  evening,  and 
most  emphatically  your  dignity  of  deportment  as  daughter  of 
Estes,  King  of  Colchis.  You  deserve  to  be  drawn  through  the 
air  upon  a  chariot  of  heavenly  fire,  not  by  Medea's  winged 
dragons,  but  God's  angels  1 '" 

Of  Miss  Ward's  excellent  impersonation  as  Mrs. 
Haller,  and  also  as  Meg  Merrilies,  the  critics  spoke 
in  one  accord  of  praise  :  — 

"  In  the  hands  of  Miss  Cushman,  the  famous  American 
tragedienne,  recently  deceased,  the  part  of  the  old  gypsy  woman 
was  brought  into  special  prominence,  the  rdle  being  one  of  that 
great  artiste's  best  efforts ;  indeed,  many  who  have  a  distinct 
remembrance  of  her  acting,  place  it  first.  Resembling  her  dis- 
tinguished countrywoman  in  many  respects, — both  having  over- 
strained their  grand  lyric  powers,  and  suffered  loss  of  voice  in 
consequence,  and  both  having  left  the  operatic  for  the  dramatic 
career,  —  Miss  Genevieve  Ward  filled  the  part  with  great  power 
and  effect  It  may  be  considered  the  least  part  of  the  excel- 
lence of  the  performance,  but  no  one  could  fail  in  being  struck 
with  her  wonderful  '  make-up.'  When  she  first  strode  upon  the 
stage,  to  the  astonishment  of  Bertram  and  Dandie,  her  appear- 
ance was  strangely  weird  and  impressive.  Her  face  was  tanned 
and  haggard ;  her  cheeks,  neck,  and  arms  seemed  withered  and 
shrivelled ;  and  in  the  wild-eyed,  wrinkled  hag  none  could  rec- 
ognize the  graceful  and  elegant  Portia,  or  the  handsome  and 
imposing  Medea.  Of  Miss  Ward's  performance,  it  may  briefly 
be  said  that  it  was  in  every  respect  artistic,  thoughtful,  and  in  the 


GENEVIE17E    WARD.  131 

highest  degree  picturesque;  even  the  difficulties  of  the  Scotch 
accent  were  sufficiently  well  met,  although  we  would  not  have 
been  justified  in  expecting  this.  The  effect  of  her  singing  of 
Franco's  song  was  indescribable ;  nothing  could  have  been 
more  true  or  natural.  Her  chanting  of  the  prophecy  had  all 
the  wild  plaintivcness  of  an  Irish  caoine.  The  last  act  of  the 
play  was  most  judiciously  altered.  Instead  of  concluding  with 
a  solo  for  Julia  Mannering,  and  chorus,  the  curtain  dropped  on 
the  picture  of  Meg's  death.  Here  Miss  Ward  made  the  great 
point  of  her  admirable  impersonation.  Her  acting  was  simply 
superb,  intense  and  forceful  in  every  particular,  while  her  per- 
fect taste  and  judgment  saved  the  episode  from  exaggeration  or 
any  appearance  of  being  overwrought.  It  was  a  magnificent 
piece  of  acting,  witnessed  in  perfect  silence  by  the  large  audi- 
ence, who  applauded  at  the  fall  of  the  curtain  with  significant 
warmth." 

About  this  time  Miss  Ward  received  a  present  from 
the  ever  kind  and  thoughtful  Ristori.  It  was  a  lap 
writing-desk,  very  handsome,  with  white  and  blue 
violets  painted  in  a  lovely  cluster  on  the  enamelled  lid. 
In  the  note  accompanying  the  gift  Ristori  said,  — 

"  What  a  pleasure  if  you  could  only  come  here  to  see  us,  to 
pass  days  and  days  with  us  in  this  lovely  villa !  You  should 
lead  with  us  a  country  life,  rising  at  six,  and  retiring  at  half- 
past  nine.  We  have  fields,  a  little  orchard,  a  beautiful  little 
house  covered  over  with  roses;  and  we  would  enjoy  ourselves, 
and  we  would  laugh !  " 

In  the  fall  of  1876  Miss  Ward,  not  satisfied  with  the 
great  success  she  had  achieved,  and  feeling  she  was 
not  thoroughly  mistress  of  her  art,  went  to  Paris,  to 
study  under  Regnier,  the  great  dramatic  teacher  and 
critic,  who  was  the  friend  of  Talma,  the  famous  stage- 
reformer  of  France,  and  of  whose  reception  years  ago, 


132  GENE VI EVE    WAKD. 

at  St.  Petersburg,  the  following  bright  bit  of  gossip  was 
related :  — 

"M.  Regnier — he  is  the  same  Regnier  who  was  the  friend  of 
de  Musset  —  had  a  wonderful  reception  at  the  theatre,  and 
soon  became  a  lion  in  the  capital.  Every  one  sought  him  and 
ftted  him.  Then  he  came  to  deliver  his  letters  of  introduction. 
He  himself  tells  the  story  with  a  delightful  simplicity  and  wit. 
The  St.  Petersburg  exquisite  was  so  exclusive  that  he  would 
allow  no  one  to  touch  any  thing  of  his  with  an  ungloved  hand. 
Regnier  unfortunately  paid  his  visit  in  complete  ignorance. 
There  was  the  usual  stiffness,  and  the  usual  insincere  interest 
Then  tea  was  brought  in, — at  that  time  more  of  a  rarity  for  an 
afternoon  meal  than  it  is  now.  The  equipage  was  faultless, — 
curious  old  silver,  dainty  Dresden  china,  the  furniture  of  a 
museum  rather  than  the  ornaments  of  a  tea-table.  M.  Regnier 
was  helped,  and  continued  his  conversation ;  but  he  had  not 
sufficient  sugar,  so,  selecting  one  lump  out  of  the  basin,  he  took 
it  in  his  fingers,  and  dropped  it  into  his  cup.  The  Prince  looked 
aghast,  and  exchanged  a  significant  glance  with  a  servant,  who 
opened  a  window,  and  emptied  the  sugar-basin  into  the  street. 
The  imperturbable  comedian  continued  his  conversation,  and 
finished  his  tea.  He  showed  no  resentment,  but,  when  his  cup 
was  quite  empty,  quietly  rose,  opened  the  window,  flung  cup, 
saucer,  and  teaspoon  into  the  street,  observing  that  soon  he 
would  get  accustomed  to  the  manners  of  the  people. 

"  On  another  occasion  the  emperor  recognized  the  comedian 
in  the  street,  stopped  him,  and  had  some  minutes'  conversation 
with  him.  They  then  parted ;  and  immediately  afterward  the 
poor  actor  was  arrested,  and  flung  into  a  dungeon.  He  was, 
however,  soon  afterward  released;  and  then  learned  that  it 
was  treason  to  address  the  emperor  in  the  streets.  The  next 
day  he  again  met  the  monarch,  who  sought  to  stop  him ;  but 
Regnier  was  forewarned.  '  Don't  speak  to  me,'  he  shouted  to 
the  king  :  '  your  majesty's  conversation  is  compromising.' " 

While  Miss  Ward  was  studying  with  Regnier,  Mile. 


GENE VI EVE    WARD.  133 

Josseliu  (Miss  Julian),  a  young  dramatic  student  of 
much  promise,  came  to  her  in  great  distress :  her 
family  were  opposed  to  her  going  on  the  stage  ;  ard 
Bressants,  her  teacher  at  the  Conservatoire,  was  ill,  her 
lessons  were  stopped,  and  she  in  despair.  Miss  Ward, 
who  had  been  rehearsing  with  her  in  the  sleep-walking 
scene  from  "  Macbeth  "  twenty-one  times,  Miss  Jos- 
selin  taking  the  rdle  of  the  nurse,  consented  to  teach 
her  in  tragedy,  paying  special  attention  to  pose  and 
gesture.  And,  at  Miss  Josselin's  debut  at  the  Conserva- 
toire, everybody  was  talking  of  her  poses  ;  nothing  had 
been  seen  like  it  since  Rachel :  and  at  the  close  the 
young  debutante  received  the  first  prize  in  tragedy, 
which  had  not  been  conferred  on  any  woman  for  seven 
years.1 

After  studying  all  winter,  Miss  Ward  made  her  first 
appearance  on  the  French  stage  at  the  Porte  St. 
Martin  Theatre,  in  February,  1877,  as  Lady  Macbeth. 
The  chief  critics  and  famous  artists  of  Paris  were 
present.  "  The  noble,  deep  eyes  of  the  author  of '  La 
Fille  de  Roland '  were  visible  in  the  orchestra-stalls ; 
and  her  teacher,  M.  Regnier,  occupied  one  of  the 

1  The  Conservatoire  in  Paris  is  a  national  school  supported  by  gov- 
ernment. Its  teachers  for  the  drama  are  selected  from  the  old  actors  of 
the  Come'die  Frangaise,  the  only  theatre  which  has  lasted  two  hundred  years. 
Its  teachers  in  music  are  selected  from  the  great  singers  of  the  French  school. 
An  artist  receiving  the  first  prize  in  the  Conservatoire  has  a  right  to  claim 
engagement  at  the  first  operas  at  the  Come'die  Franchise.  The  jury  is  se- 
lected by  the  government,  from  among  such  men  as  Dumas,  —  none  of  the 
teachers  can  serve,  —  Perrin,  the  director  of  the  Come'die  Franchise,  and  other 
great  critics  and  dramatic  authors,  who  pass  the  verdict  and  confer  the  prizes, 
retiring  as  from  any  other  court  to  consult  and  agree.  When  it  was  an- 
nounced to  Mile.  Josselin,  that  this  prize  had  been  awarded  to  her,  she 
sobbed  aloud. 


134  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

boxes."  The  play  was  given  in  French,  after  the 
translation  of  M.  Jules  Lacroix ;  but  the  sleep-walking 
scene  was  played  in  English  at  the  request  of  Regnier, 
"  else,"  said  he  to  Miss  Ward,  "  the  critics  will  vow 
you  are  a  Frenchwoman,  and  think  that  the  announce- 
ment of  your  foreign  nationality  was  only  a  trick  to 
whet  curiosity." 

The  most  eminent  living  French  dramatic  critic, 
Francisque  Sarcey,  opened  with  a  discourse  on  Sheri- 
dan's "  School  for  Scandal ; "  then  followed  the  first  and 
second  acts  of"  Macbeth,"  and  the  sleep-walking  scene. 
A  correspondent  of  "  The  London  Era  "  said,  — 

"Miss  Ward's  French  was  so  perfect  that  her  American 
nativity  was  discredited  until  in  the  sleep-walking  scene,  given 
in  English,  she  fairly  electrified  the  house.  It  was  splendidly 
rendered,  with  an  intensity  of  power  and  statuesque  grace  that 
called  forth  the  warmest  applause,  and  a  double  recall,  a  very 
exceptional  compliment  here.  She  was  afterward  personally 
complimented  in  the  most  cordial  manner,  by  several  distin- 
guished artists  and  critics.  M.  Victorien  Sardou,  who  had  left 
his  sick-room  to  be  present,  and  Francisque  Sarcey,  who  volun- 
teered to  sign  Miss  Ward  a  diploma  as  a  French  actress,  were 
among  those  who  vied  to  do  her  honor.  Needless  to  say  that 
Regnier,  her  tutor,  was  in  ecstasies  at  the  triumph  of  his  pupil, 
so  great  that  she  was  invited  to  repeat  the  sleep-walking  scene 
at  the  next  Porte  St.  Martin  matinte" 

The  French  plaudit  of  critics  and  the  public  was 
one  harmonious  and  full  chord  of  praise,  as  intelligent 
and  just  as  it  was  warm. 

The  London  papers  quoted  the  French  journals  :  — 

"  Miss  Ward's  appearance  at  the  Porte  St.  Martin  the  other 
day  as  Lady  Macbeth  [said  a  critic  in  "The  London  World" 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  135 

of  Feb.  21,  1877]  was  a  genuine  success.  It  was  a  difficult 
undertaking  to  play  the  part  of  Lady  Macbeth  in  French ;  and, 
with  that,  to  give  more  than  satisfaction  to  an  audience  ill 
acquainted  with  the  piece.  She  was  obliged  afterward  to  repeat 
the  sleep-walking  scene  in  English,  and  for  a  curious  reason, — 
because  her  French  was  so  pure,  it  was  necessary  to  give  her 
hearers  proof  that  it  was  not  her  native  tongue.  Both  repre- 
sentations were  admirable,  especially  the  long  scene  of  im- 
perious temptation  with  Macbeth,  which  occurs  in  the  second 
act. 

"  I  was  so  fortunate  as  to  witness  her  first  appearance  in 
this  part  in  England ;  and,  much  as  that  pleased  me,  I  am  bound 
to  say  that  her  improvement  under  French  training  has  been 
very  great  indeed.  She  has  simply  had  the  resolution  to  with- 
draw herself  for  a  while  from  the  English  stage,  in  order  to  take 
lessons  of  those  masters  of  her  art  who  are  to  be  found  at  the 
Conservatoire.  I  wish  that  others  of  our  actresses  would  follow 
her  example  ;  but  I  am  sorry  —  and  Miss  Ward  must  be  more 
than  human  if  she  is  not  glad  —  to  think  that  they  will  not." 

Said  "  The  Dublin  Morning  Mail,"  — 

"  A  series  of  morning  performances  is  at  present  being 
given  in  the  Theatre  Porte  St  Martin,  in  Paris,  called  '  Mati- 
nees Characteristiques.'  Their  character  consists  in  the  fact, 
that  each  one  is  devoted  to  a  nationality  or  period :  thus  the 
Russian,  Spanish,  Italian,  and  English  authors  respectively 
are  represented  at  a  matinee,  and  also  different  centuries,  —  the 
fourteenth,  fifteenth,  etc.  A  notable  feature  in  each  matinee 
is,  that  at  each  performance  is  delivered  a  discourse  by  one  of 
the  principal  Parisian  critics.  The  second  matinee  was  devoted 
to  England,  and  the  play  was  '  Macbeth.'  In  the  latter,  Miss 
Ward  played  Lady  Macbeth.  The  performance  was  in  French ; 
and  the  gifted  American  actress,  with  whom  Dublin  is  familiar, 
was  received  by  the  French  audience  as  a  countrywoman  ;  and 
it  was  only  when  she  spoke  the  sleep-walking  scene  in  English, 
that  her  nationality  was  allowed.  The  house  was  full  of  the 
literati  of  Paris,  including  most  of  the  members  of  the  Comedie 


136  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

Francaise, —  MM.  Sardou,  Bomier,  Dumas,  etc..  —  all  of  whom 
applauded  heartily,  and  recalled  the  artiste  twice,  a  very  rare 
honor  on  the  French  stage  ;  and  a  repetition  of  her  Lady  Mac- 
beth is  asked.  It  is  pleasant  to  record  such  a  distinguished 
success  of  a  lady  whose  first  efforts  we  witnessed  with  genuine 
delight." 

A  London  letter  to  "The  Dublin  Telegraph"  com- 
mented as  follows :  — 

"  Sarcey,  the  great  critic,  declares  that  Miss  Ward  possesses 
every  quality  necessary  to  insure  her  the  most '  tclatant  siicces ' 
which  has  greeted  any  actress  since  the  days  when  Alexandre 
D'imas  created  them  in  return  for  their  making  Aim.  The 
French  stage  is  sadly  deficient  in  the  tragic  element  just  now; 
and  Sardou,  on  seeing  Miss  Ward's  performance  of  Lady  Mac- 
teth,  immediately  seized  upon  her  as  the  most  fitting  represent- 
ative of  his  new  play,  —  his  beau  idial  of  the  warmth  and  ten- 
derness required.  This  striking  success  of  a  foreigner  on  the 
Paris  boards  is  regarded  as  the  great  artistic  event  of  the  day ; 
and  the  London  managers  stand  amazed  at  their  own  want  of 
perspicacity,  especially  remembering  the  reception  Miss  \Yard 
met  with  in  Dublin,  where  she  was  greeted  with  the  same  appre- 
ciation of  her  genius  as  manifested  by  the  public  of  Paris,  — 
affording  another  proof  of  the  superiority  of  Dublin  in  the 
refinement  of  criticism,  and  the  higher  feeling  for  art  which 
exist  in  your  city,  and  should  force  the  acknowledgment  of  its 
being  the  artistic  capital  of  the  kingdom." 

During  her  sojourn  in  Paris,  Miss  Ward  received 
many  distinguished  proposals  for  theatrical  engage- 
ments ;  among  them,  one  from  M.  Jenneval,  manager 
of  the  Troisteme  Theatre  Francais, —  so  called  as  the 
Oddon  is  considered  the  second,  —  not  now  in  opera- 
tion ;  another  from  Jules  Claretie,  the  same  accom- 
plished gentleman  and  clever  dramatist  now  writing 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  137 

the  brilliant  feuilleton  for  Le  Nord,  entitled  "  La  Mai- 
son  Vide  ;  "  and  another  from  Albert  Alberg,  manager 
of  the  Djurgaards  Theatre  of  Stockholm. 

The  celebrated  and  popular  French  actor,  Pierre 
Berton,  wrote  to  the  critic  of  the  "  Figaro "  and 
"  Gaulois  :  "  — 

"  DEAR  SIR, —  I  have  been  to  see  Miss  Ward,  and  I  thank 
you  for  having  sent  me.  Without  your  advice,  I  might  have 
lost  the  occasion  to  hear  an  eminent  artist,  whose  play,  always 
natural  and  true  even  in  the  most  dramatic  situation,  has  car- 
ried me  away ;  for  it  is  true  art  as  I  understand  it,  and  as  I  try 
to  practise  it.  The  attitude,  facial  expression,  and  gesture  of 
Miss  Ward,  are  equal  to  her  fine  diction,  so  pliant,  so  varied. 
I  am  sorry  I  shall  be  unable  at  this  time  to  hear  her  again ;  for 
it  would  have  been  a  real  pleasure,  and  a  precious  study." 

Some  months  previous  to  her  French  debut,  Lord 
Newry,  a  very  clever  and  accomplished  young  man, 
translator  of  the  "  Danischeffs,"  and  owner  of  the  St. 
James  Theatre,  had  written  to  Miss  Ward  :  — 

ASHRIDGE,  GREAT  BERKHAMPSTEAD,  Nov.  30, 1876. 
MY  DEAR  MADAME,  —  I  am  glad  for  your  sake  that  your 
prospects  in  Paris  are  so  good  that  you  cannot  feel  yourself 
justified  in  relinquishing   them   under  a  less   sum   than  forty 
pounds  a  week.  .  .  .  There  is  not  a  single  lady  in   London 
drawing  that  salary  ;  and  not  more  than  four  at  the  outside  in 
receipt  of  even  half  of  it.  ...  I  think  you  will  show  the  Paris- 
ians that  they  are  not  the  only  artists  in  the  world. 
Faithfully  yours, 

NEWRY. 

Miss  Ward  received  many  precious  private  congrat- 
ulations upon  her  triumphs  at  the  Porte  St.  Martin,  — 
from  Ristori's  friend  and  critic,  G.  de  Filippi ;  from 


!  38  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

the  famous  Madame  Celeste ;  from  Lionel  Tennyson, 
son  of  the  laureate ;  from  Palgrave  Simpson ;  and 
Madame  Ristori  wrote  :  — 

"  Who  knows  what  you  may  have  been  thinking  of  my 
silence  ?  But  you  —  naughty  one  —  have  not  even  thought  of 
asking  me  the  reason  1  Your  triumphs  have  paled  my  memory 
in  your  thoughts  —  is  it  not  so?  Ah  I  I  am  delighted  with  your 
magnificent  success  in  Paris,  but  I  am  not  in  the  least  aston- 
ished ;  but  allow  me  to  tell  you,  all  the  same,  that  your  English 
language  is  diabolically  diabolical !  I  miss  you  so  much !  I 
kiss  you  with  my  heart ;  and  I  love  you,  and  am  your 

"  ADELAIDE  RISTORI." 

Miss  Ward  has  received  letters  from  this  dear  and 
generous  friend  from  almost  all  parts  of  the  world. 
"  Madame  Ristori  always  speaks  with  the  sincerest 
kindness  of  artists,"  said  Miss  Ward  to  me,  "  and  is 
remarkably  faithful  in  her  remembrance  of  her  friends." 

This  was  observable  in  her  letters.  I  hardly  found 
one  in  which  she  did  not  make  tender  inquiry  for  Miss 
Kate  Field. 

Miss  Ward's  French  triumphs  brought  her  offers 
from  London  managers  :  — 

"  I  am  not  astonished  at  the  propositions  made  to  you  from 
London  [wrote  Regnicr] :  the  contrary  would  have  astonished 
me ;  and  it  is  equally  without  surprise  that  I  hear  of  the  French 
movement  taking  possession  of  the  English  actors.  Last  Tues- 
day at  the  Conservatoire,  an  English  actress  imparted  to  me 
her  desire  to  act  the  rSle  of  Juliet  in  French.  Her  accent  ren- 
ders the  attempt  impossible  for  her ;  but  I  see  in  this  the  emu- 
lation which  your  achievement  has  excited,  and  which,  in  my 
opinion,  you  alone  can  make  succeed.  If  you  regret  our  les- 
sons, believe  also  that  the  same  regret  is  mine.  Such  pupils  as 
yourself  are  rare,  or,  more  properly  speaking,  they  do  not 
exist." 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  139 

In  September,  1877,  Miss  Ward  accepted  an  en- 
gagement to  play  as  Queen  Catherine  in  the  grand 
Shakespearian  revival  at  the  Theatre  Royal,  in  Man- 
chester. 

"  Mr.  Charles  Calvert,  by  whom  the  play  has  been  arranged 
for  presentation  [said  "  The  Manchester  Courier  "],  and  under 
whose  care  it  has  been  produced,  is  already  known  all  over 
Europe  and  America  for  the  grandeur  and  faithfulness  of  his 
Shakespearian  revivals;  and  the  splendor  and  solidity  of  the 
scenic  display  will  live  in  the  memory  of  those  who  see  it  as 
one  of  the  most  elaborate  and  impressive  performances  of  mod- 
ern times." 

The  Hon.  Lewis  Wingfield  supplied  the  authorities 
and  designs  for  the  costumes,  paraphernalia,  and  rega- 
lia employed  in  the  production.  "  His  skill,  judgment, 
and  popularity,  therefore,"  said  "The  Era,"  "were 
qualifications  of  the  first  order  in  connection  with 
such  an  enterprise." 

Charles  Sever  wrote  in  "The  Manchester  Guard- 
ian:"— 

"  Miss  Genevieve  Ward  is,  in  my  opinion,  one  of  the  most 
accomplished  artists,  both  intellectually  and  dramatically,  on 
the  English  stage.  Her  performance  here  of  Lady  Macbeth 
some  time  ago  —  to  say  nothing  of  her  recent  successes  in 
Paris,  in  French .  rendering  of  the  same  —  struck  me  as  the 
truest,  most  forcible,  and  most  finished  embodiment  of  the  part 
which  I  had  seen  during  a  period  of  forty  years. 

"Equally  striking  is  her  impersonation  of  the  dethroned 
Queen  Catherine,  whether  in  the  famous  council-chamber  scene 
in  Act  I.  where  she  pleads  before  the  king,  or  the  scene  with 
Cardinal  Wolsey  in  Act  III ,  or  in  the  vision  and  dying  scene, 
which  is  the  most  painfully  real  embodiment  of  gradual  disso- 
lution conceivable." 


140  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

The  correspondent  of  "  The  Chronicle "  waxed 
wruth  with  Mr.  Sever,  splenetically  snubbed  him  for 
the  length  of  a  whole  column,  and  was  very  unsympa- 
thetic with  the  slow  and  literal  death  of  the  queen ; 
but  the  press  and  the  public  were  with  Mr.  Sever. 

Her  old  master,  Regnier,  to  whom  she  sent  the 
Manchester  papers,  wrote  :  — 

M  To  you  the  praise  is  complete ;  and  I  do  not  detect,  in  all 
the  critics  say  of  you,  the  shadow  of  a  reticence.  You  are 
recompensed  for  your  long,  brave  labors.  I  hope  you  will  give 
me  the  most  ample  details  of  your  success :  the  examination 
which  you  ought  to  make  of  the  impressions  made  upon  the 
public  will  be,  I  assure  you,  as  interesting  for  me  as  for  you. 
Continuation  of  success,  and  the  warmest  affection  in  the  name 
of  my  wife,  and  of  yours  affectionately, 

"REGNIER." 

She  attended  the  Church  of  England  Temperance 
Bazaar,  and  acted  with  Mr.  Calvert  in  the  trial  scene 
from  "  The  Merchant  of  Venice,"  giving  the  proceeds 
to  the  society.  Then  followed  fast  upon  one  another 
noble  successes  in  Manchester  and  Liverpool,  as  Lady 
Macbeth,  Beatrice  in  "Much  Ado  about  Nothing," 
and  as  Portia,  etc.  Long  and  able  critical  leaders  in 
the  papers  concerning  her  fine  impersonations  were 
now  the  rule ;  and  Regnier,  delighted  with  her  grow- 
ing fame,  wrote  to  her  in  reference  to  O'Neill's  admira- 
ble review  of  her  Lady  Macbeth  in  "  The  Manchester 
Examiner : "  — 

"  The  author's  appreciation  of  you  is  most  remarkable  :  it  is 
more  difficult  to  know  how  to  praise  than  to  criticise ;  and,  for 
the  writer  to  justify  the  so  well-merited  praises  he  gives  you, 
must  make  you  happy  and  proud  to  be  so  understood.  That 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  141 

there  should  have  been  astonishment  to  see  you  so  playful  and 
gay  in  a  comic  rdle,  I  can  well  understand.  I  did  not,  myself, 
expect  it  when,  for  the  first  time,  we  tried  a  comedy ;  but  you 
will  remember  you  surprised  me,  and  fairly  had  my  approval 
without  reserve,  nor  did  we  long  tarry  over  a  task  in  which  you 
gave  me  so  little  to  do.  Your  success  in  the  two  styles  has 
been  complete,  and  it  should  be  well  established  in  London  that 
you  hold  there  a  sceptre  which  no  one  can  rightfully  dispute 
with  you." 

In  March,  1878,  Miss  Ward  played  in  London  at 
the  Queen's  Theatre,  Emilia  to  the  Hungarian  trage- 
dian Neville  Moritz's  Othello.  The  Othello  met  with 
some  fine  praise  shaded  by  a  great  deal  of  carping  and 
blame.  The  "old  playgoer,"  Mr.  Charles  Sever,  and 
his  enemy  of  "  The  Chronicle,"  had  a  skirmish  on  the 
subject,  Mr.  Sever  coming  out  the  gentleman,  logician, 
and  critic  of  the  two ;  and  his  verdict  in  favor  of  the 
new  Emilia  was  worthy  to  outweigh  many  adverse 
voices.  Miss  Ward  was  pronounced  "  the  best  Emilia 
of  our  generation." 

After  another  successful  tour  of  the  provinces,  she 
lent  herself  as  Portia  and  Queen  Catherine  to  the 
furtherance  of  the  Shakespeare  Memorial  Benefit,1 
chiefly  the  undertaking  of  Miss  Kate  Field,  but  warmly 
seconded  by  the  "hearty  co-operation  of  the  mana- 
gers and  artists  who  interested  themselves  in  the  car- 
rying-out of  the  scheme ;  and  there  was  not  a  single 
hitch  anywhere  to  mar  the  harmony  of  the  proceed- 
ings." The  receipts  were  ^450. 

American  journals  were  now  beginning  to  find  space 

1  For  the  establishment  of  a  theatre  at  Stratford-on-Avon,  "on  Shake- 
speare's ground,  for  Shakespeare's  sake." 


142  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

for  accounts  of  the  foreign  triumphs  of  their  gifted 
countrywoman ;  and  she  entered  into  an  engagement 
with  Messrs.  Jarrett  and  Palmer  for  a  tour  of  the  States 
for  the  winter  and  spring  of  1878  and  1879. 

Among  the  many  congratulations  Miss  Ward  re- 
ceived upon  her  prospective  American  tour,  was  the 
following  from  the  manager  of  "  The  New  York  Her- 
ald "  in  Paris. 

FEB.  6,  1878. 

DEAR  Miss  WARD,  —  I  need  scarcely  say  to  you  that  I  am 
greatly  rejoiced  at  the  conclusion  of  your  engagement.  It  is 
what  I  have  long  been  looking  forward  to  for  you.  I  believe  it 
was  all  that  was  required  to  crown  your  hopes  and  aspirations. 
If  any  one  ever  deserved  success  in  this  world,  you  do.  You 
have  struggled  bravely  and  honestly  against  difficulties  that 
would  have  dismayed  most  women  of  your  refinement  and  ac- 
complishments. I  have  watched  your  course  with  interest ;  and 
I  can  say  to  you  truthfully,  and  without  the  slightest  desire  to 
flatter  you,  that  I  have  never  seen  any  career  more  nobly  or 
more  consistently  played  out  You  are  not  only  an  honor  to 
your  profession,  but  to  your  sex;  and  it  is  but  just  that  you 
should  now  meet  with  the  rewards  of  your  efforts,  from  which 
you  might  have  shrunk,  had  not  the  welfare  and  happiness  of 
others  been  involved  in  them.  Your  good  news  has  made  me 
glad,  and  my  hearty  good  wishes  follow  you  everywhere. 
Ever  truly  your  friend, 

J.  J.  RYAN. 

From  Paris,  date  of  March  10,  1878,  came  the  fol- 
lowing flattering  query :  — 

"  Could  you  find  artists,  and  engage  to  mount  three  or  four 
English  plays  to  be  performed  in  July  at  a  large  theatre  in  Paris, 
probably  the  Italian  Opera  House,  which  will  be  offered  for 
that  purpose  by  the  French  Government  during  the  Exposition  ? 
Excuse  me  for  troubling  you  thus,  and  deign  to  find  in  it,  among 


GENE  VIE  VE    WARD.  143 

other  motives,  a  sincere  and  earnest  desire  to  see  your  great 
talent  affirm  itself  again  in  Paris.  I  am  also  writing  to  the 
director  of  the  Burg  Theatre  in  Vienna,  and  to  Madame  Ris- 
tori  to  participate  in  this  dramatic  event. 

"  With  best  compliments, 

"J.  GUST.  BERTRAND." 

A  change  of  ministry  prevented  this  project  from 
fulfilment. 

On  the  eve  of  her  departure  for  America  she  re- 
ceived the  following :  — 

"  Good-by  Ristori,  adieu  Rachel  I  —  since  it  is  thus  that 
England  speaks  of  you;  but  for  me,  adieu  Genevieve  Ward, 
a  name  which  will  have  as  great  a  meaning  for  the  artists  who 
will  come  after  you  1  My  kind  compliments  to  all  your  family, 
and  to  you  the  felicitations,  best  wishes,  of  your  affectionate 

"  REGNIER." 


KATHERINE. 

WE  heard  the  eloquence  that  rings  repeal 

Of  wrongs,  flagitious  in  a  subject's  sight ; 
We  saw  the  gracious  form  consent  to  kneel 

To  gain  for  Buckingham  his  envied  right 
Like  chill  and  rattling  hail  on  Wolsey  fell 

Her- stern  anathemas  'gainst  spleen  and  pride ; 
Though  dark  Campeius  wrought  a  subtle  spell, 

His  art  her  nobleness  and  truth  defied. 
Most  regally  she  stood,  her  brow  alight 

With  the  mild  halo  that  o'ertops  the  great, 
Till  Justice  in  habiliments  of  night 

For  earthly  honor  gave  immortal  state. 
Thus  have  we  seen,  enraptured  with  the  view, 
The  queen  whom  Ward  enacts,  whom  Shakspeare  drew. 

G.  W.  PETTES. 

BOSTON  THEATRE,  BOSTON,  MASS., 
April  10, 1879. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  147 


VI. 


EARLY  in  July,  1878,  Miss  Ward  with  her  father 
arrived  in  New- York  City  by  the  steamer  "  City 
of  Berlin ;  "  and  within  a  very  few  hours  after,  that 
ubiquitous,  energetic,  much-abused,  sometimes  much- 
abusing,  often  invaluable,  and  always  unquenchable 
being,  the  newspaper-reporter,  had  called  on  her,  and 
propounded  the  question,  — 

"  What  are  your  plans  for  acting  in  America?  " 

To  which  Miss  Ward  had  replied,  — 

"  I  can't  say  very  definitely  :  the  management  is  in 
the  hands  of  Jarrett  and  Palmer,  and  I  have  scarcely 
seen  them  since  my  arrival.  I  shall  go  immediately 
on  a  visit  to  my  friend  Adelaide  Phillips,  at  Marshfield, 
Mass.,  the  place  adjoining  Daniel  Webster's.  It  was 
that  which  brought  me  over  so  early.  On  Sept.  2  I 
shall  appear  at  Booth's  Theatre  in  'Jane  Shore,'  which 
was  written  by  W.  G.  Wills  for  Miss  Heath,  and  has 
been  played  in  England  for  two  or  three  years  with 
great  success.  The  play  has  been  re-written  for  me. 
Mr.  Wills  thought  the  third  act  was  not  strong  enough, 
and  has  changed  it  in  some  important  particulars. 
The  penance  takes  place  on  the  stage  instead  of  off: 
the  snow-storm  scene,  in  which  the  heroine  dies  of 


[48  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

hunger  on  the  stage,  I  think  is  one  of  the  strongest  in 
the  English  drama.  After  '  Jane  Shore,'  I  shall  prob- 
ably play  in  '  Macbeth,'  '  Henry  the  Eighth,'  '  Meg 
Merrilies,'  Mrs.  Haller  in  'The  Stranger,'  Portia  in 
'The  Merchant  of  Venice,'  Beatrice  in  'Much  Ado 
about  Nothing,'  and  other  parts.  If  'Jane  Shore' 
should  have  a  long  run,  some  of  the  others  will  perhaps 
be  postponed  until  my  return  from  our  contemplated 
tour.  We  propose  visiting  Philadelphia,  Boston,  and 
probably  all  the  large  cities.  It  was  proposed  at  first 
that  I  should  make  my  first  appearance  in  '  Henry  the 
Eighth.'  I  am  glad  the  change  of  plan  was  made,  for 
I  should  dislike  to  meet  a  New  York  audience  first  in 
a  character  which  they  have  learned  to  look  upon  as 
Charlotte  Cushman's.  I  find  that  I  am  getting  a  little 
nervous  as  the  time  approaches  when  I  am  to  make 
my  debut  here  :  I  find  that  this  is  what  I  have  really 
been  working  for  all  these  years.  The  measure  of 
my  success  abroad  was  valuable  for  its  own  sake  and 
as  an  earnest  of  what  I  might  do  at  home." 

Jennie  June,  one  of  the  guests  invited  to  share 
with  Miss  Phillips  the  pleasure  of  Miss  Ward's  visit, 
arrote :  — 

"Miss  Ward  sailed  from  England  a  month  ahead  of  time 
on  purpose  to  enjoy  a  few  weeks  at  Marshfield ;  Miss  Matilda 
Phillips  —  whose  magnificent  voice  has  won  the  most  unusual 
and  extraordinary  encomiums  from  Sir  Jules  Benedict  and 
Manuel  Garcia,  the  famous  teacher  —  having  carried  over  a 
pressing  invitation  to  London  from  Miss  Adelaide,  whose  inti- 
mate acquaintance  with  Miss  Ward  dates  back  to  the  season 
when  they  sang  together  in  Havana. 

"Can  you  imagine  the  group  which  poured  out  upon  )he 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  149 

piazza  of  this  pleasant  house  when  the  carriage-wheels  were 
heard?  First  and  foremost,  Miss  Genevieve  Ward,  who  has 
come  back  to  us  the  celebrated  tragedienne,  looking  taller,  and 
perhaps  more  stately,  but  beautiful,  bright,  and  spontaneous 
as  ever;  her  father,  Col.  Ward,  so  long  and  so  well  known  as 
a  representative  of  the  United  States  abroad,  a  still  handsome 
and  dignified  old  man,  though  his  hair  and  beard  are  silvery 
white,  and  he  is  an  invalid  past  active  service." 

Referring  to  Miss  Ward's  experiences  as  Countess 
de  Guerbel,  Jennie  June  adds,  — 

"  This  romance  of  Genevieve  Ward's  life  is  never  now  al- 
luded to  by  her,  and  does  not  seem  to  have  left  a  cloud  upon 
her  life ;  for  she  has  used  it  simply  as  the  incentive  to  hard 
work  in  her  profession.  She  is  very  young-looking  for  one  who 
has  won  so  high  a  place,  has  a  magnificent  figure,  a  manner 
singularly  sweet  and  winning,  yet  capable  of  expressing  great 
pride ;  a  rich  voice,  beautiful  blue  eyes,  which  become  gray 
when  moved  by  thought  or  feeling,  and  a  face  like  Ristori's, 
with  regular  features ;  and  masses  of  dark  hair,  which  she  simply 
twists  in  a  huge  coil,  through  which  she  slips  a  pin  or  a  dagger. 

"  I  quite  appreciated  a  remark  made  by  Miss  Emily  Faithfull 
in  regard  to  her,  in  a  private  letter  to  a  friend  in  this  country,  — 
that  she  was  so  sorry  she  was  not  born  in  England  :  she  would 
have  been  so  proud  to  claim  her  as  an  Englishwoman.  She 
inspires 'that  sort  of  feeling.  There  is  no  nonsense  about  her: 
she  is  conscientious,  ardent,  perhaps  ambitious  ;  but  she  could 
never  be  suspected  of  any  thing  mean  or  unworthy.  I  had 
formed  no  opinion  of  her  as  an  artist  before  seeing  her ;  but  I 
am  inclined  to  think  now  that  she  will  be  a  surprise,  —  that  she 
stands  alone  in  her  own  particular  field  of  grand  tragic  art. 

"  She  is  rather  careless  about  clothes,  and  values  her  ward- 
robe, not  because  it  is  made  by  Worth,  but  because  each  dress 
was  designed  by  Lewis  Wingfield,  the  great  historical  artist, 
and  is  strictly  accurate,  down  to  the  smallest  detail.  There  is 
no  tinsel  about  them,  and  she  wears  but  little  jewelry;  but  the 
fabrics  are  fine,  and  harmonious  in  sentiment,  form,  and  color, 
and  are  an  admirable  study  of  effects." 


150  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

All  sorts  of  biographical  sketches,  inextricably  con- 
fusing trutli  with  error,  appeared  in  the  journals  of  the 
day  preceding  and  following  her  visits  to  the  chief 
cities  of  her  tour,  which  she  began  by  playing  as  Jane 
Shore  at  Booth's  Theatre  in  New  York  on  the  night 
of  Sept.  2.  Her  audiences  were  large,  and  received 
her  with  enthusiasm ;  and  the  journals,  especially 
the  "  Tribune,"  "  Herald,"  and  "  World,"  praised  her 
performances  with  very  high  eulogium.  At  work 
among  the  minor  critics,  however,  was  a  detracting 
spirit,  moved  beyond  question  by  petty  personal  pique, 
who  \vrot6  up  a  stock  of  spiteful  comments,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  introducing  them  from  time  to  time  in  the 
columns  of  second-rate  journals.  The  handiwork  in 
every  instance  was  glaringly  the  same,  and  was  ulti- 
mately ascertained  to  be  that  of  the  same  person  who 
years  before  in  Paris  withheld  from  Mrs.  Ward  and  her 
daughter  papers  and  letters  in  re  the  de  Guerbel 
marriage  intrusted  by  them  to  his  temporary  charge 
until  Gen.  John  A.  Dix's  peremptory  dixit  recovered 
them  !  This  little  trail  of  slime  among  her  laurels 
naturally  puzzled  some  of  the  fair-minded. 

"  The  ways  of  critics  in  New  York  are  past  finding  out 
[said  a  writer  in  "The  Baltimore  American"].  For  some  rea- 
son or  other,  known  only  to  themselves,  a  sort  of  cabal  tried  to 
form  itself  against  Miss  Ward,  and  write  her  down.  It  was  said 
that  her  death-scene  was  too  realistic  (alluding  to  her  Queen  • 
Catherine),  that  there  was  no  occasion  to  go  through  the  death 
agonies  in  order  to  die  upon  the  stage.  Now.  one  peculiarity  of 
Miss  Ward's  death-scene  is  the  absence  of  any  forced  or  un- 
natural agonizing.  As  a  woman  said  who  saw  her,  'she  actu- 
ally dies.'  This  same  woman,  a  lady  of  great  intelligence  and 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  151 

experience,  remarked  to  her  in  my  presence,  '  I  have  seen  many 
persons  die  off  the  stage,  but  I  never  saw  one  die  on  the  stage 
until  I  saw  you ;  and  the  illusion  was  so  complete  that  I  nearly 
fainted.  You  must  have  watched  the  phenomena  very  closely." 
— '  No,'  replied  Miss  Ward,  '  I  never  saw  any  one  die  in  my 
life.  A  celebrated  physician,  whom  I  consulted,  advised  me 
not  to  work  off  symptoms,  but  to  just  die ;  and  so  natural  does 
it  seem  to  be,  after  going  through  the  part,  to  yield  up  life  and 
all  its  interests,  and  so  absolutely  am  I  psychologized  by  that 
idea,  that  I  hardly  know  for  a  few  moments,  myself,  whether  I 
have  not  really  given  up  the  ghost." 

One  Philadelphia  paper,  not  ill-named  "  The  Item," 
busied  itself  in  picking  out  and  assorting  single  points 
of  cavil,  from  among  criticisms  which,  as  a  whole, 
broadly  recognized  her  powers,  and  grouping  them  as 
the  "  opinions  of  the  press."  This  melange  quoted 
Mr.  Winter  of  "The  Tribune"  as  saying,  concerning 
her  Jane  Shore,  — 

"  Those  who  are  waiting  to  be  entranced  by  a  celestial  visita- 
tion of  overwhelming  genius  will  probably  continue  to  sit  upon 
the  anxious  seats ;  " 

but  omitted  to  include  these  words  of  Mr.  Winter's 
discriminating  pen  in  the  same  article  :  — 

"  In  the  intellectuality  of  her  art,  as  in  her  personal  appear- 
ance, Miss  Ward  awakens  vivid  reminiscence  of  Ristori ;  she 
shows  the  same  practical  force  of  character,  the  same  cold  will, 
and  thorough  equipment  in  mechanical  resources ;  her  presence 
is  imposing,  her  countenance  is  splendidly  expressive,  her  ges- 
tures are  large,  free,  and  picturesque,  and  her  physique  obeys 
with  unswerving  accuracy  and  instantaneous  promptitude  the 
monitions  of  her  thought  and  impulse ;  and  she  is  the  accom- 
plished mistress  of  all  her  powers.  A  more  entirely  competent 
actress  is  seldom  seen :  she  has  abundant  force,  abundant 


IS2  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

repose,  and  beautiful  finish.  ...  In  the  fourth  act  Miss  Ward 
rose  to  the  height  of  absolutely  imaginative  grandeur.  The 
theatre  now  rang  with  delighted  plaudits,  and  there  were  five 
recalls  of  the  tableau  and  the  actress  after  the  curtain  fell.  The 
success  of  the  night  stood  assured  at  that  point.  It  was  cer- 
tainly a  most  brilliant  climax  ;  and  those  who  can  rejoice  in  see- 
ing a  fine  work  accomplished  with  perfect  adequacy  of  art  will 
view  with  unqualified  admiration  the  acting  of  Miss  Genevieve 
Ward." 


Miss  Ward  herself  did  not  like  the  rdle  of  Jane 
Shore,  preferring  always  tragedy  to  melodrama ;  and 
this  fact  was  at  the  bottom  of  any  want  felt  in  her 
impersonation,  which  was  nevertheless,  as  an  artistic 
performance,  without  blemish,  and  drew  large  houses 
for  the  few  weeks  of  its  run. 

On  the  20th  September  she  played  the  sleep-walk- 
ing scene  of  Lady  Macbeth,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
"  Ladies'  Matinee  for  the  Benefit  of  the  Municipal 
Fund  to  relieve  the  Sufferers  by  the  Yellow-Fever  in 
the  South ; "  and  on  the  23d  received  the  following 
from  the  secretary  of  the  committee  appointed  to  take 
charge  of  such  funds  :  — 

NBW  VORK,  Sept.  23, 1878. 

Miss  GENEVIEVE  WARD,  —  The  committee  desire  to  return 
to  you  their  sincere  thanks  for  your  kindness  in  assisting  at  the 
matinie  benefit  given  at  Booth's  Theatre  on  last  Friday  after- 
noon, in  aid  of  the  sufferers  by  yellow-fever  in  the  South.  The 
remembrance  of  your  kindly  act  will  always  remain  fresh  in  the 
memories  of  these  poor  fever-stricken  people. 
Respectfully, 

ERNEST  T.  FELLOWES, 
Secretary. 


6Y;V\7:  r//c  T/f    WARD.  153 

Her  Queen  Catherine  and  Lady  Macbeth  continued 
to  bring  the  best  audiences  of  New  York  to  Booth's 
Theatre ;  and  her  engagement  there  proved  a  genuine 
success. 

Miss  Anna  E.  Dickinson,  who  had  then  never  met 
Miss  Ward  personally,  was  discussing  with  Mrs.  Croly 
the  relative  merits  of  Miss  Ward's  Queen  Catherine 
and  Lady  Macbeth,  and  Miss  Cushman's  impersona- 
tion of  the  same  roles. 

Their  conversation  chanced  to  occur  in  the  hearing 
of  a  certain  reporter  who  had  a  personal  grudge  to 
satisfy  against  Miss  Ward,  and  who  was  now  en- 
grossed in  casting  little  pellets  all  along  Miss  Ward's 
victorious  way.  Conceiving  that  now  indeed  his  hour 
had  come,  he  at  once  stated  in  "  The  Capital," 
a  sheet  published  in  Washington,  that  Miss  Dickin- 
son had  pronounced  Miss  Ward  far  inferior  to  Miss 
Cushman. 

Very  soon  after  this,  Miss  Ward  received  the  follow- 
ing letter :  — 

FIFTH-AVENUE  HOTEL,  Nov.  5, 1878. 

DEAR  Miss  WARD,  —  I  trust  you  have  been  infinitely  less 
annoyed  than  I,  by  what  I  find  set  forth  of  a  talk  of  mine  in 
the  last  number  of  "  The  Capital." 

In  a  conversation  I  supposed  strictly  private,  I  commented 
on  your  Queen  Catherine  and  Lady  Macbeth  as  compared  with 
those  of  Charlotte  Cushman. 

At  the  close  of  a  great  many/rar  and  cons,  what  I  actually 
said  was :  "  The  long  and  the  short  of  the  matter  is,  that  I  like 
Genevieve  Ward's  Lady  Macbeth  as  much  better  than  I  liked 
that  of  Charlotte  Cushman,  as  Charlotte  Cushman's  Queen 
Catherine  seems  to  me  greater  than  that  of  Miss  Ward;" 
and,  if  I  am  not  mistaken  in  you,  you  are  quite  broad  enough 


154  GENEVIEVE    WAKD. 

to  allow  another  to  disagree  with  your  conception  (not  with  the 
working-out  of  that  conception)  of  any  given  rdlt,  without 
thinking  such  an  one  either  malevolent  or  a  fool.  It  is  not  that 
I  think  you  will  specially  value  my  opinion  one  way  or  other, 
but  for  my  own  content,  that  I  want  you  to  know  the  whole 
truth,  and  not  the  half,  —  which  is  generally  the  meanest  of 
lies. 

Very  truly  yours, 

ANNA  E.  DICKINSON. 

In  accordance  with  one  of  the  most  blessed  of  the 
laws  of  life,  the  little  seed  sown  in  spite  blossomed, 
despite  the  sower,  in  a  warm  friendship  between  Miss 
Dickinson  and  Miss  Ward,  in  which  each  does  full 
justice  to  the  other's  grand  powers.  Of  Miss  Dickin- 
son's undeniable  dramatic  genius,  Miss  Ward  has 
spoken  to  me  in  very  high  terms,  regretting,  as  does 
many  another  eminent  judge,  that  she  should  have 
received,  as  an  actress,  so  little  of  the  broad  appre- 
ciation which,  both  as  encouragement  and  desert,  was 
manifestly  her  due. 

From  New  York  to  Brooklyn,  Providence  (which 
she  took  by  storm),  Philadelphia,  Washington  (where 
she  was  the  honored  guest  of  Mrs.  President  Hayes), 
Baltimore,  Rochester,  Buffalo,  Hamilton,  Toronto, 
Montreal,  Portland,  Albany,  Springfield,  Worcester, 
Providence,  and  Boston,  Miss  Ward's  tour  was  one 
triumphal  march,  the  fruit,  not  only  of  genius,  but  of 
most  conscientious  and  patiently  faithful  labors  apart 
from  her  own  noble  impersonations ;  for  Miss  Ward 
manages  all  her  plays,  teaches,  directs,  superintends 
the  rehearsals,  selects  even  the  goods  for  the  costumes, 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  155 

arranges  the  tableaux,  —  in  a  word,  carefully  supervises 
the  entire  representation  of  which  she  forms  the  nucleus. 
The  following  letters  and  quotations  from  letters 
received  by  Miss  Ward  during  this  tour  are  an  unmis- 
takable verdict  upon  her  art. 

101  EAST  59TH  STREET,  NEW  YORK, 
Oct.  2,  1878. 

MY  DEAR  Miss  WARD,  —  I  must  thank  you  for  the  very 
great  pleasure  you  gave  us  last  night,  by  taking  us  back  for 
three  centuries,  and  into  the  presence  of  the  veritable  Queen 
Catherine  as  understood  by  Shakespeare.  Your  impersonation 
is  admirable,  and  will  live  in  my  memory  among  the  great  crea- 
tions I  have  witnessed,  beginning  with  Rachel's.  You  were 
every  inch  a  queen :  the  death-scene  especially  was  really  elec- 
trifying. My  friends  and  myself  left  the  theatre  under  a  spell, 
charmed  by  the  wonderful  art  with  which  you  recreated  the 
proud  and  unhappy  Aragonese  princess.  .  .  .  Can  you  give  us 
the  pleasure  of  your  company  to  dinner,  enfamille,  etc.  ? 
Yours  very  cordially, 

MARY  L.  BOOTH. 

456  PEARL  STREET,  NEW  YORK, 

Oct.  10,  1878. 
MESSRS.  JARRETT  AND  PALMER. 

GENTLEMEN,  —  As  an  old  artist  permit  me  to  give  my  con- 
scientious opinion,  that  for  originality  of  conception,  tenderness 
of  feeling,  and  startling  power,  Miss  Ward's  Queen  Catherine 
is  the  finest  I  ever  saw ;  and  I  have  played  with  all  the  great 
representatives  of  that  character  since  1845. 

Her  "  make-up  "  in  the  last  scene  was  a  marvel  of  artistic 
limning,  and  the  "  mise  en  scZne  "  I  have  never  seen  equalled  in 
this  country  or  Europe. 

Yours  respectfully, 

GEORGE  C.  BRYDEN. 

The  following,  addressed  to  Miss  Ward's  dear  friend 
Mrs.  Sanford,  is  of  .special  interest,  from  the  fact  that 


156  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

the  writer,  a  young  painter  of  rare  promise,  was  en- 
tirely deaf,  and  makes  this  beautiful  and  feeling  tribute 
through  the  interpretation  of  sight  alone. 

NEW  YORK,  Oct.  13, 1878. 

DEAR  MRS.  SANFORD, —  I  cannot  tell  you  how  many  times 
I  have  thought  of  you,  and  how  sweet  it  was  in  you  to  send  the 
beautiful  Miss  Ward  to  see  me,  and  to  give  me  the  pleasure  I 
had  on  Friday  evening.  My  judgment  of  acting  is  founded  on 
no  knowledge  of  it ;  but  what  sensibility  I  have  in  my  own  art, 
I  cannot  help  exercising  upon  what  I  see  at  the  theatre.  Miss 
Ward  seems  unquestionably  great  to  me.  I  was  deeply  affected 
by  every  movement  she  made :  every  look  and  gesture  seemed 
fully  charged  with  the  mournfulness  of  Queen  Catherine's  fate, 
and  the  beauty  of  the  character  shone  out  in  every  expression 
of  her  noble  face.  In  the  last  act,  where  the  queen  is  broken 
in  spirit,  and  tremulous  with  suffering  and  age,  it  is  the  most 
touching  thing  I  ever  beheld.  Her  costume  and  "make-up" 
were  as  wonderful  as  her  acting,  and  such  subtle  and  harmoni- 
ous acting  I  never  saw.  There  was  reason  and  love  and  beauty 
and  temperateness  in  it ;  it  was  deep,  strong,  and  sonorous;  noth- 
ing in  it  that  I  could  wish  otherwise.  It  had  the  solemn  color- 
ing of  a  Venetian  picture;  and  her  hands  were  a  marvellous 
study,  a  perfect  revelation.  I  am  so  filled  with  admiration,  that 
I  must  needs  write  confusedly  of  it.  ...  The  costume  of  the 
last  act  was  a  great  piece  of  work,  —  a  rich  material  of  a  sombre 
golden  tone,  something  like  winter  grass,  and  trimmed  with 
fur ;  and  the  other  dresses  had  an  artistic  magnificence  I  have 
never  seen  equalled.  The  more  I  think  of  it,  the  more  I  am 
touched  by  your  kindness ;  and  I  long  to  be  face  to  face  with 
you  to  tell  you  by  my  silence  how  deeply  I  appreciate  this 
thoughtful  act  of  yours. 

Ever  in  great  respect  and  affection  yours, 

OLIVER  I.  LAY. 

A  gentleman,  formerly  consul  at  Manchester,  wrote 
to  Miss  Ward  from  — 


GENEV/EVE    WARD.  157 

ST.  Loins,  Oct.  15,  1878. 

We  were  very  glad  to  hear  of  your  success  over  the  water, 
and  I  read  with  much  pleasure  of  the  furore  your  last  appear- 
ances in  Dublin  created.  I  only  envy  those  who  were  present, 
and  able  to  join  in  the  applause.  And,  now  that  you  are  in  this 
country,  we  seem  as  far  from  you  as  before,  for  our  local  papers 
—  except  in  describing  how  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not 
arrayed  as  you  are  in  Jane  Shore  —  have  left  us  in  ignorance 
of  what  you  are  doing.  Mrs.  Cabot  tells  us  you  have  been 
received  with  success.  Well,  if  Success  had  not  tripped  down 
Broadway,  and  helped  you  over  the  steamer's  side,  and  made 
his  best  bow  to  you,  and  introduced  you  to  everybody  he  knew, 
he  would  have  written  himself  down  an  ass,  and  ought  never 
again  to  have  shown  his  welcome  face  among  decent  people ! 
.  .  .  The  house  is  so  large  that  we  have  two  guest-chambers, 
one  of  which  we  call  "  Miss  Ward's  room ;  "  and  in  future  ages 
we  hope  to  have  our  boy  point  to  its  bed  with  pride,  and  tell 
his  children  that  thereon  Queen  Catherine  rested  when  she 
halted  in  her  royal  progress  through  the  West.  .  .  .  For  I  take 
it  for  granted  you  will  come  to  St.  Louis  some  time  during  the 
winter  or  the  spring.  Kindest  regards  to  your  father.  Tell 
him  that  I  cannot  get  at  the  true  inwardness  of  Western  poli- 
tics, and  I  think  it  about  time  we  had  a  conference  to  settle  the 
true  state  of  the  country.  And  now,  with  the  Cranes'  love, 
believe  them  to  be  your  majesty's  most  loyal  and  affectionate 
servants, 

NEWTON  CRANE,  et  al. 

LIVERPOOL,  Oct.  22, 1878. 

DEAR  FRIEND,  —  We  have  heard  of  your  success  with  the 
greatest  possible  delight,  although  we  expected  nothing  less 
than  a  complete  triumph  for  you.  It  has  indeed  been  achieved 
under  adverse  circumstances :  the  heat  must  have  been  simply 
awful.  I  knew  you  would  like  Mrs.  Croly  (Jennie  June),  and 
I  am  proud  to  have  brought  you  together.  You  are  one  of  the 
few  women  I  dearly  love  and  esteem,  and  we  think  and  talk  of 
you  continually.  Your  photographs,  which  delight  us,  have  a 


158  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

place  of  honor  on  the  mantlepiece :  this  brings  your  name  to 
many  lips,  among  others  to  those  of  Mr  O'Neill  of  Manchester, 
who  called  the  very  day  they  arrived.  He  was  all  you  repre- 
sented, and  he  was  charmed  with  "  Zicka."  I  enclose  his  notice, 
and  also  Mr.  E.  R.  Russell's ;  for,  knowing  the  men,  you  will 
measure  their  criticisms.  The  Kendalls  are  lovely  to  her ;  and, 
indeed,  the  more  I  see  of  Mrs.  Kendall,  the  more  I  admire  her 
as  an  actress,  and  as  a  woman.  .  .  .  Don't  forget  how  welcome 
news  of  you  will  always  be  to  us.  How  I  should  like  to  have 
an  ideal  theatre  here,  with  you  as  star,  and  my  child  working 
with  you,  —  a  thoroughly  good  company,  excellent  plays,  and 
bishops  in  front  as  well  as  sporting  lords  and  newspaper  pro- 
prietors 1  ...  I  am  sorry  for ,  as  I  am  for  all  unfortunate 

women.  As  "Zicka"  says  every  night,  in  tones  which  have 
always  riveted  the  noisiest  audience,  "  Life  is  so  hard  to  some 
women,  and  men  are  so  merciless  1 "  She  is  now  at  the  theatre, 
or  would  send  some  message  of  her  own ;  for  you  are  one  of 
her  "  loadstars."  God  bless  you  1 

Ever  your  affectionate 

EMILY  FAITHFULL. 

OPORTO,  SPAIN,  Nov.  21, 1878. 

DEAR  FRIEND, —  Forgive  my  delay.  You  know  what  it  is 
to  make  up  a  company,  and  put  a  whole  repertoire  on  the  stage. 
Well,  doing  things  as  usual  by  steam,  I  was  obliged  to  mount 
"  Marie  Antoinette  "  in  four  rehearsals,  and  the  others  in  the 
same  haste,  remaining  in  the  theatre  off-nights  eleven  hours  to 
rehearse.  I  was  afraid  of  falling  ill,  but  the  electricity  which 
always  animates  the  artist,  and  me  in  particular,  enlarged  my 
forces;  and  the  tremendous  applause  of  the  different  publics 
had  their  influence  on  my  strength,  and  re-tempered  me.  .  .  . 
On  the  23d  of  December  I  shall  again  be  in  Rome,  changing 
the  life  of  inspiration  for  the  exactions  of  society,  but  which  has 
the  advantage  of  making  you  enjoy  repose.  To  me  it  seems 
beautiful  to  be  the  artist  now  and  then,  renovating  the  spirit  in 
the  emotions  of  glory,  and  then  turn  to  enjoy  the  compensations 
of  the  dear  quiet  of  home.  ...  I  felicitate  you  on  your  grand 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  159 

success,  which  will,  I  know,  augment;  and  in  the  end  your 
triumph  will  be  complete  over  all  the  annoyances  which,  after 
all,  you  must  have  naturally  prevised.  I  am  sorry  to  hear  of 
your  father's  ill  health,  and  I  understand  how  much  it  worries 
you.  Hard,  inexorable  law  of  nature  1  ...  Give  me,  when  you 
can,  detailed  accounts  of  yourself.  How  you  must  enjoy  being 
in  New  York  I  I  envy  you:  it  is  one  of  the  dearest  remem- 
brances of  my  career.  Have  me  in  your  heart  with  the  friend- 
ship I  bear  you.  Your 

ADELAIDE  RISTORI  (DEL  GRILLO). 

Mrs.  Ward  received  the  following  from  an  American 
lady :  — 

HAMILTON. 

DEAR  MADAM,  —  We  have  just  parted  from  your  wonder- 
ful Genevieve,  who  is  making  her  Canadian  tour,  and  with  whom 
my  family,  including  myself,  my  husband,  children,  and  sisters, 
are  madly  in  love.  I  thought  you  might  like  these  few  lines 
from  across  the  sea,  to  tell  you  how  well  and  how  bright  she 
looks,  how  every  one  respects  and  loves  her,  and  how  we  would 
all  do  every  thing  in  our  power  for  her.  She  is  indeed  a  won- 
derful creature,  infusing  life  and  strength  wherever  she  goes. 
I  was  often  afraid  we  bored  her ;  but  we  love  her  and  admire 
her  so,  I'm  afraid  we  couldn't  help  it. 

UTICA,  Feb.  19, 1879. 

MY  DEAR  Miss  WARD,  —  You  speak  of  your  gratification 
at  the  approval  of  competent  critics.  It  is  no  less  a  pleasure 
to  one  who  is  paid  to  sit  in  judgment  upon  the  drama,  to  receive 
some  sign  of  recognition  that  his  work  is  more  than  the  per- 
functory phrases  of  a  daily  drudge.  Most  of  all  is  it  a  delight 
when  such  tokens  come  in  the  form  of  such  charming  notes  as 
I  have  the  honor  to  thank  you  for.  As  a  matter  of  course, 
dramatic  criticism  in  the  country  must  rest  under  many  dis- 
advantages —  as  must  dramatic  representation.  What  the  latter 
lacks  in  force  of  surroundings,  in  scenery,  in  the  spirit  which  a 
crowded  and  cultured  metropolitan  house  inspires,  the  former 


,5o  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

also  loses  from  lack  of  time,  from  infrequent  requisition,  and 
from  the  hurry  of  a  slender-staffed  daily.  More  than  this,  there 
is  the  difficulty  of  talking  to  an  audience  not  accustomed  to 
make  distinctions  between  plays  and  players,  or  to  distinguish 
with  any  dtgree  of  nicety  artifice  from  art.  Embarrassed  thus, 
I  am  more  than  pleased  to  have  pleased  you.  I  think  I  can 
speak  for  Utica,  in  tendering  to  the  artist  whose  Jane  Shore 
is  still  a  rich  and  beauteous  memory  with  us,  a  cordial  and 
hearty  welcome  at  whatever  time  she  may  arrange  to  come.  I 
remain  with  kindest  wishes, 

Very  truly  yours, 

HAROLD  FREDERIC. 

Such  a  letter  as  the  foregoing  must  have  convinced 
Miss  Ward  that  a  "slender-staffed  daily  "  is  sometimes 
equipped  with  a  pen  more  effective  for  both  courtesy 
and  capacity,  and  tipped  with  finer  artistic  perception, 
than  always  fills  the  critical  departments  of  the  pleth- 
orically-staffed metropolitan  dailies. 

CAMBRIDGE,  April  9,  1879. 

DEAR  Miss  WARD,  —  My  nephew's  name  in  full  is  Alexan- 
der Wadsworth  Longfellow;  but  the  first  name  is  generally 
dropped  by  us.  How  very  kind  it  is  of  you  to  offer  him  these 
letters  to  Paris  I  He  is  very  grateful  for  this  mark  of  your 
interest  in  him.  So  also  am  I,  well  remembering  the  forlorn 
condition  of  a  young  stranger  in  the  great  city,  with  no  one  to 
turn  to  for  sympathy  but  his  banker.  I  am  looking  forward 
with  great  impatience  to  Thursday  and  Saturday,  and  am,  dear 
Miss  Ward,  till  then  and  after, 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

HENRY  W.  LONGFELLOW. 

Mr.  Longfellow,  Mr.  O.  W.  Holmes,  Mr.  Edwin  P. 
Whipple,  and  other  literary  celebrities,  attended  Miss 
Ward'3  representations  during  her  short  stay  of  only 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  r6T 

a  week  in  Boston ;  and  Mr.  Longfellow  told  me  that 
he  considered  her  acting  among  the  very  greatest  he 
had  ever  seen,  and  quite  the  most  artistically  faultless. 
Owing  perhaps  to  the  fact  of  Mr.  Longfellow's  appear- 
ing twice  at  the  theatre  during  the  week,  or  quite 
possibly  to  the  grace  and  vigor  of  the  sonnet  by  Mr. 
G.  W.  Pettes,  published  in  "  The  Boston  Advertiser," 
it  was  supposed  to  be  the  tribute  to  Miss  Ward  of  the 
bard  of  the  Charles ;  and  a  raid  was  accordingly  made 
on  "The  Advertiser,"  which  could  hardly  supply  the 
demand. 

As  a  capable  bit  of  appreciation,  and  at  the  same 
time  a  snub  of  the  Hub  administered  by  a  fledged 
and  famous  Bostonian,  the  following  is  given  :  — 

CAMBRIDGE,  April  to,  1879. 

DEAR  MADAME,  —  I  trust  that  a  sincere  love  of  the  true  in 
any  branch  of  art  will  sufficiently  excuse  me,  a  stranger,  for  my 
hardihood  in  addressing  you  a  few  lines  to  express  my  appre- 
ciation of  your  acting  in  "  Jane  Shore."  I  have  watched  with 
interest  the  remarks  the  newspaper  critics  have  made  upon 
this  performance,  and  have  been  more  than  ever  convinced 
that  those  whom  Bostonians  call  critics  were  more  properly 
termed  reporters.  Their  opinions  about  the  loftiest  grades  of 
art  have  dwindled  down  to  be  the  bare  repetition  of  set  phrases, 
"  magnetism,"  "  pose,"  etc.,  etc. 

Although  a  native  of  this  charmingly  pedantic  city  myself, 
I  hope  that  I  have  seen  enough  outside  of  its  narrow  streets  to 
enable  me  to  judge  more  fairly  of  Boston  than  many  of  my 
fellow-citizens ;  and  I  am  obliged  to  confess  that  in  our  art- 
education  we  are  still  mere  beginners.  This  is  particularly  the 
case  with  the  stage ;  where,  since  the  death  of  Miss  Cushman, 
we  have  seen  no  first-rate  artiste.  Never  having  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  seeing  your  acting  before  last  Saturday  night,  imagine 
my  surprise  and  delight  at  witnessing  a  performance,  in  many 


J62  CENEVIEVE    WARD. 

points  bringing  to  my  mind  the  characteristic  features  of  the 
highest  school  of  acting  of  to-day,  —  the  Italian.  In  many  pas- 
sages of  that  harrowing  play,  "  Jane  Shore,"  I  fancied  m\  self 
back  in  Rome,  thrilled  by  Ristori  herself!  I  do  not  know 
whether  you  will  agree  with  me  in  regarding  Italy  as  the  pres- 
ent home  of  the  drama,  or  not :  at  any  rate,  you  cannot  think  it 
a  lack  of  appreciation  which  associates  you  with  a  school  whose 
present  masters  are  Salvini,  Ristori,  and  Ernesto  Rossi.  I  am 
looking  forward  with  expectation  to  seeing  Shakespeare's  hero- 
ines once  more  in  the  hands  of  one  who  I  am  sure  will  not  fail 
to  bring  out  their  mighty  lights  and  shadows." 

Miss  Ward's  success  in  Boston  was  very  genuine, 
and  of  that  best  kind  that  augments  in  the  memory. 
If  the  criticism  of  the  press  was  not  altogether  just  or 
capable,  it  was  seldom  carping,  and,  on  the  whole, 
appreciative,  with  some  instances  of  specially  able 
recognition,  and  discriminating  encomium ;  and  her 
audiences,  composed  of  the  best-qualified  people  of 
Boston  and  Cambridge  literary,  artistic,  and  social 
circles,  were  won  to  her,  not  only  for  that  week  of 
laborious  and  brilliant  achievement,  but  for  as  often 
and  long  as  Miss  Ward  will  come  to  them.  She  left  in 
April  for  Paris,  to  fulfil  an  engagement  to  play  Queen 
Catherine  at  the  National  Theatre  in  that  capital ;  and 
on  the  zd  of  June  she  wrote  to  me  from  St.  John's 
Wood,  London  :  — 

"I  fear  I  shall  not  return  to  America  this  season.  I  am 
obliged  to  produce  my  new  play  here  before  I  take  it  there,  or 
I  lose  the  copyright  in  England ;  and,  besides,  my  perform- 
ances in  Paris  are  postponed  until  the  winter.  They  wished 
me  to  rehearse  and  mount  the  play  of  'Henry  VIII.'  in  two 
weeks,  which  was  impossible,  and  therefore  I  refused.  A  kind 
letter  sustaining  me  in  this  refusal  came  from  M.  Regnier,  \\  ho 


GENE VI EVE    WARD.  163 

'felicitated  me  on  my  good  sense  1 '  ...  It  pleases  me  so  much 
that  Mr.  Longfellow  remembers  me,  and  thinks  to  ask  for  my 
welfare.  I  shall  always  treasure  the  recollection  of  my  little 
visit  to  his  home  in  Cambridge  among  my  happiest  souvenirs. 
...  A  delightful  testimony  from  Mr.  Emerson,  who  saw  me 
play  Jane  Shore,  but  whom  I  did  not  have  the  good  fortune  to 
meet  while  in  Boston,  will,  I  know,  give  you  pleasure.  He  sent 
me  an  invitation  to  visit  him  at  Concord  when  I  return,  and  the 
lines  he  wrote  for  me  were,  — 

'  Oh,  what  is  heaven  but  the  fellowship 
Of  minds,  that  each  can  stand  against  the  world 
By  its  own  meek  but  incorruptible  will ! 

RALPH  WALDO  EMERSON.'" 

The  new  play  to  which  Miss  Ward  alluded  in  the 
foregoing  letter  was  written  by  Palgrave  Simpson  and 
Claude  Templar,  and  was  entitled  "Zillah,"  and  re- 
quired Miss  Ward  to  fill  a  double  role  as  Zillah  the 
gypsy,  and  again  as  her  twin-sister  the  Lady  Con- 
stance. This  play  was  placed  by  Miss  Ward  on  the 
stage  of  the  Lyceum  during  Mr.  Irving's  vacation  in 
August,  1879,  with  great  care  and  expense  as  to  scenic 
effects,  and  elegance  and  variety  of  costume.  Her 
acting  was  pronounced  worthy  of  all  praise ;  but  the 
play  was  so  worried  and  badgered  and  torn  to  pieces 
by  the  critics  and  the  public,  that  after  four  nights  rep- 
resentation, Miss  Ward,  having  lost  ^2,800  by  it,  re- 
moved it  without  protest  or  complaint. 

One  eminent  critic  had  written  to  her  :  — 

"You  did  all  that  was  possible  with  the  impossible ;  but  no 
actress  that  ever  breathed  could  have  made  a  triumph  of 
'Zillah.'" 


1 64  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

And  Mr.  Wingfield,  wise  and  unfailing  friend,  wrote 
her  these  words  of  friendliest  stern  fibre  :  — 

"  What  you  have  to  do  is  to  play  at  once  something  which 
you  are  sure  of,  to  efface  with  all  speed  the  recollection  of  a 
fiasco  of  which,  happily,  you  are  clearly  the  victim,  not  the 
cause.  Should  you  close  now,  even  for  a  night,  it  would  be  a 
sign  of  faiblesse,  theatrically  speaking,  and  a  very  grave  error 
in  judgment.  If  '  Lucrezia '  is  not  possible  Thursday,  why  then 
Saturday;  but  to  the  earnest  and  broad-shouldered  all  things 
are  possible." 

And  Thursday  it  was.  Without  losing  a  night, 
silent  as  a  Spartan  as  to  the  burden  and  strain  she 
was  enduring,  she  produced  and  appeared  in  "  Lucre- 
zia Borgia  "  with  noble  success. 

She  had  received  this  little  note  :  — 

DEAR  MADAME,  —  I  do  not  leave  home  as  often  as  I  used ; 
but,  if  you  will  put  my  name  down  for  a  quiet  corner,  I  should 
like  to  come  and  see  you  in  "  Lucrezia  Borgia."  The  situations 
are  grand,  and  I  shall  like  to  see  them  divorced  from  the  flimsy 
...  of  the  Italian  composer. 

Yours  truly, 

CHARLES  READE. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  Mr.  Herman  Merivale, 
author  of  the  play  of  "  Forget  Me  Not,"  now  testifies, 
in  the  litigation  anent  .that  play,  that  Miss  Ward  had 
never  won  dramatic  recognition  until  he  taught  her 
how  to  play  "  Forget  Me  Not,"  the  following  letters 
have  special  interest  and  value. 

LONDON,  Aug.  9, 1879. 

I  must  write  a  line  to  thank  you  for  a  couple  o£  hours  of 
immense  gratification.  I  have  seen  you  act  now,  and  was  per- 
fectly delighted  with  the  mingled  grace,  power,  and  tenderness 


GENEVIEVE    WARD. 


I65 


of  the  performance.  It  was  superb  from  end  to  end  ;  but  the 
transition  in  the  third  act  from  the  imperious,  domineering 
Lucrezia,  to  the  soft,  impassioned  woman,  was  the  gem  of  the 
part.  Unstung  by  jealousy,  what  man  could  have  said  "no" 
to  such  pleading  ?  Compliments  on  your  profound  knowledge 
of  your  art,  you  must  be  tired  of;  but  I  can  honestly  say  that  no 
two  of  your  last  night's  audience  were  more  pleased  than  Her- 
man Merivale  and  myself. 

Your  admiring  friend, 

HAWLEY  SMART. 

Miss  Patty  Chapman,  the  niece  of  the  famous  Mrs. 
Charles  Kean,  with  whom  she  often  played,  wrote, 
date  of  Aug.  9  :  — 

"  Thank  you  again  and  again,  dear  Miss  Ward,  for  the  '  real 
treat '  you  afforded  us  last  night,  —  my  cousin,  Mrs.  Charles 
Kean's  only  daughter,  her  husband,  and  myself.  You  acted 
Lucrezia  splendidly,  with  so  much  power,  and  such  finish  in 
all  your  great  scenes ;  and  your  voice  is  most  harmonious  and 
telling.  You  often  reminded  us  of  my  aunt  Mrs.  Kean;  and 
Herman  Merivale,  who  joined  us  during  the  performance,  said 
the  same  thing ;  and  many  would  think  we  could  not  pay  you 
a  greater  compliment." 

"  Grace  Greenwood  "  (Mrs.  Lippincott)  —  whose 
daughter's  debut  had  taken  place  under  Miss  Ward's 
direction  —  wrote  to  her  on  the  same  date  :  — 

"  I  had  great  delight  in  your  superb  acting  last  night :  you 
remind  me  of  Ristori  in  her  grandest  moments.  I  look  forward 
to  '  Guy  Mannering,'  your  Meg  is  so  great." 

After  a  brilliant  morning  performance  of  Meg  Mer- 
rilies,  she  continued  to  act  nightly  in  the  rdle  of  Lucre- 
zia ;  the  critics  hardly  knowing  which  to  applaud  most, 
her  admirable  playing,  or  her  equally  admirable  energy 


1 66  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

in  thus  quickly  and  competently  producing  play  after 
play  with  a  truly  royal  determination  to  satisfy  the 
public. 

Miss  Ward  impersonated  Stephanie,  Marquise  de 
Mohrivart,  for  the  first  time,  on  the  night  of  Aug.  22, 
in  the  play  "  Forget  Me  Not,"  which  she  has  since 
rendered  famous.  The  public  was  interested  and 
puzzled,  uncertain  at  what  rate  to  estimate  this  new 
and  complex  rdle :  the  critics  pronounced  it  superla- 
tive. Meantime  a  terrible  blow  fell  on  this  brave 
woman,  in  the  sudden  news  by  cable  of  the  death  of 
her  father,  Aug.  28,  at  the  home  of  his  brother  in  the 
West,  among  relatives  who  loved  him,  and  sought  to 
cheer  his  last  moments,  but  not,  as  he  and  she  would 
have  had  it,  in  the  arms  of  the  daughter  whose  chival- 
rously tender  friend  and  companion  he  had  been  for 
so  many  years,  and  who  had  loved  him  with  a  beauti- 
ful comprehension  and  unvarying  devotion. 

The  very  night  of  these  tidings,  Miss  Ward  appeared 
as  usual  in  "  Forget  Me  Not."  Letters  from  friends 
came  during  the  ensuing  days,  to  share  her  sorrow, 
and  to  show  her  they  knew  what  depths  of  tenderness 
bleeding  in  silence  lay  under  the  heroic  fulfilment  of 
her  public  duty.  From  among  these  tender  expres- 
sions of  sympathy  from  her  venerably  beautiful  and 
gifted  friend  Madame  Colmache,  from  Mrs.  Louise 
Chandler  Moulton  (whose  poems  have  shown  the  world 
glimpses  of  one  of  the  most  sympathetic  hearts  that 
beats),  from  Miss  Matilda  Phillips,  from  authors,  actors, 
artists,  critics,  I  have  chosen  this  one,  because  of  the 
peculiar  fitness  of  its  few  strong,  eloquent  words. 


GENE  VI  EVE    WARD. 


MANCHESTER,  Sept.  3,  1879. 

DEAR  Miss  WARD,  —  I  am  deeply  grieved  to  hear  of  the 
death  of  your  father  :  you  will  know  that  I  am  not  using  the 
language  of  conventional  condolence.  Though  our  acquaint- 
ance was  not  long,  I  had  learned  to  admire  his  estimable  quali- 
ties, and  was  proud  to  believe  that  he  had  admitted  me  to  his 
friendship.  I  was  still  in  the  hope  that  I  might  see  him  again, 
and  not  once  only.  I  beg  permission  to  offer  you  my  heartfelt 
sympathy.  It  must  be  inexpressibly  hard  to  pursue  your  task 
under  the  shadow  of  this  great  affliction.  It  was  wiser  and 
nobler  to  accept  the  blow  as  one  of  the  inevitable  sorrows  of 
our  common  lot,  than  to  obey  the  natural  impulse  to  surrender 
yourself  to  your  grief;  and  it  may  help  you  to  sustain  yourself 
in  your  course,  to  be  assured  that  your  friends,  while  sharing 
your  mourning,  will  admire  you  the  more  for  the  brave  front 
you  have  maintained  under  one  of  the  heaviest  strokes  of  fate. 
I  remain  yours  faithfully, 

ARTHUR  O'NEILL. 

And  this  one  from  the  world-beloved  Italian  :  — 

PARIS,  Sept.  14,  1879. 

MY  POOR  FRIEND,  —  Though  you  have  long  been  prepared 
for  the  death  of  your  father,  I  can  well  understand  that  it  comes 
as  a  great  sorrow.  I  will  not  repeat  to  you  the  things  that  are 
usually  said  in  these  sad  hours  ;  but  I  will  say  to  you,  my  Gene- 
vieve,  "  Courage  1  "  and  think  with  me  that  life  is  only  a  field 
of  crosses  for  those  unfortunates  who  have  inherited  from  nature 
sensitive  hearts.  ...  I  have  been  happy  in  your  triumph. 
You  have  finally  passed  the  Rubicon.  I  have  always  said,  and 
I  will  always  say,  you  deserve  to  win  the  fullest  fortune  for 
your  perseverance,  tenacity,  and  indefatigable  study  ;  and  now 
at  last,  see  I  you  are  walking  the  road  of  the  few,  wearing  the 
mantle  of  greatness.  Courage  !  These  sorrows  will  pass  :  the 
love,  the  labor,  and  the  glory  will  remain.  Your 

ADELAIDE  RISTORI. 

In  September,  just  as  the  public  began  to  perceive 


GENEVIEVE    WARD. 


that  Stephanie  was  a  creation,  Miss  Ward,  resigning 
the  Lyceum  to  Mr.  Irving,  left  London,  and,  in  a  fall 
and  winter  tour  of  the  provinces  with  "  Forget  Me 
Not,"  made  one  of  the  most  complete  artistic  and 
popular  successes  ever  recorded  on  the  stage  ;  toward 
the  close  of  which  she  received  from  the  gentlemen 
of  her  company  an  elegant  writing-case  inscribed  to 
"  Miss  Genevieve  Ward,  in  pleasant  remembrance  of 
the  '  Forget  Me  Not  '  tour  of  1879  ;"  also  a  daintily 
beautiful  white  fan,  hand-painted  with  forget-me-nots, 
and  her  monogram  worked  in  those  flowers,  presented 
by  the  ladies  of  her  company,  with  whom,  as  Stepha- 
nie, she  had  been  so  long  at  variance. 

The  following  letters  accompanied  the  gifts  :  — 

THEATRE  ROYAL,  MANCHESTER,  Dec.  9,  1879. 

DEAR  Miss  WARD,  —  On  the  eve  of  terminating  your  first 
"  Forget  Me  Not  "  tour,  we,  the  gentlemen  of  your  company, 
respectfully  beg  your  acceptance  of  the  accompanying  writing- 
desk  as  a  souvenir  of  our  sincere  appreciation  of  the  courtesy 
and  kindness  you  have  invariably  extended  to  us.  We  also 
take  this  opportunity  of  conveying  to  you  our  warmest  con- 
gratulations on  the  artistic  success  which  has  happily  attended 
you.  That  you  may  long  be  spared  to  adorn  our  profession,  of 
which  you  are  so  brilliant  an  example,  is  the  earnest  wish  of 
yours, 

FRANK  CLEMENTS. 

F.  CHARLES. 

D.  CULVER. 

IAN  ROBERTSON. 

J.  H.  COBBE. 

"  Misses  Foley,  Alice  and  Rose,  beg  the  Marquise  de  Mohri- 
vart's  acceptance  of  the  accompanying  fan  as  a  peace-offering, 
trusting  that  with  the  close  of  the  present  week  their  long  dis- 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  169 

agreement  may  come  to  an  end.  They  feel  that  as  a  gift  it  is 
not  all  they  could  wish,  but  hope  that  as  a  slight  souvenir  it 
may  find  favor  in  her  eyes,  and  that  hereafter  she  will  be  able 
to  say  with  a  certain  American  poetess,  — 

'  And  yet,  whenever  I  wave  my  fan, 
The  soft  south  wind  of  memory  blows,' " 


"  WHY  may  a  man  live  two  lives,  while  a  woman  must  stand  or  fall 
by  one  ? 

"What  was  the  difference  between  us  two,  Sir  Horace  Welby,  in 
those  bygone  years,  that  should  make  me  now  a  leper  and  you  a  saint  ? 

"  There  would  be  no  place  in  creation  for  such  women  as  I,  if  it  were 
not  for  such  men  as  you  I  "  STEPHANIE. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  173 


VII. 

EXACTLY  six  months  from  the  date  of  its  first 
production  at  the  Lyceum,  "  Forget  Me  Not " 
was  reproduced  at  the  Prince  of  Wales  Theatre  under 
the  management  of  Mr.  Edgar  Bruce,  Feb.  22,  1880, 
with  the  only  Stephanie  possible  in  Miss  Ward's  inimi- 
table creation.  The  echoes  of  her  provincial  tour  had 
stirred  London  to  unwonted  heights  of  expectation. 

"  The  real  success  of  the  present  production  [said  a  writer 
in  a  London  magazine]  —  for  the  cachet  given  by  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  though  affecting  a  certain  small  circle,  would  have  little 
influence  with  the  general  body  of  playgoers  —  lies  in  the  fact 
that  those  persons  by  whose  verdict  dramatic  fortunes  are  made 
or  marred,  and  who  are  by  no  means  the  regular  newspaper 
critics,  were  away  from  London  in  the  autumn,  and  hence  the 
'  fiery  cross '  which  is  passed  from  hand  to  hand  through  an 
enormous  succession  of  coteries  had  no  chance  of  circulation. 
When  Miss  Ward  had  once  been  seen  by  the  cognoscenti,  her 
success  was  achieved ;  and,  indeed,  it  is  very  long  since  such  a 
triumph  of  pure  artistic  skill  and  training  has  been  witnessed 
on  the  English  stage." 

The    little    theatre '  was    crowded  nightly,  by  the 

1  The  pretty  little  box  known  as  the  Prince  of  Wales  Theatre,  in  London, 
with  its  narrow  and  perplexing  winding  passages  and  inadequate  exits,  is  by 
far  the  worst  fire-trap  for  a  complete  human  holocaust  I  have  ever  entered. 
Wherever  the  responsibility  for  the  tragical  risk  incurred  by  those  who  enter 
there,  rests,  it  is  an  exceedingly  heavy  one. 


174  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

cleverest  and  most  aristocratic,  from  the  Prince  of 
Wales  down  through  the  widening  network  of  royalty, 
nobility,  and  wealth. 

When  the  Prince  of  Wales  first  saw  Miss  Ward  in 
"  Forget  Me  Not,"  he  sent  for  Mr.  Bruce,  the  mana- 
ger, and  asked  who  it  was  who  played  the  part  of 
Stephanie.  "  Because,"  said  the  Prince,  "  she  is  un- 
mistakably a  lady :  only  her  manner  in  putting  the 
sugar  in  Sir  Horace's  cup,  shows  the  lady  bred.  She 
has  hardly  an  equal  on  the  London  stage.  Where  has 
she  been?  Why  have  I  never  heard  of  her?" 

"  Her  mother  is  in  the  opposite  box :  I  will  go  to 
her,  and  bring  your  Highness  word,"  said  Mr.  Bruce. 

"She  is  of  a  very  old  American  family,  and  the 
widow  of  a  Russian  officer,"  was  Mrs.  Ward's  simple 
reply  to  Mr.  Bruce's  inquiry. 

After  the  play,  the  Prince  went  to  the  green-room, 
and  sent  to  Miss  Ward,  asking  permission  to  see  her. 

Complimenting  her  warmly  upon  her  performance, 
and  especially  noting  her  pronunciation  of  French  in 
certain  phrases  and  songs  belonging  to  her  rdle,  he 
asked,  "You  are  a  French  woman,  are  you  not?" 

"  No,  your  Highness  :  my  family  have  been  for  two 
hundred  and  sixty  years  in  America,  but  were  origi- 
nally from  London."  —  "Ah  !"  said  the  Prince,  "you 
speak  French  marvellously  well ;  but  I  have  always 
thought  the  women  of  America  the  cleverest  in  the 
world." 

He  then  asked  her  if  she  would  not  like  to  play  a 
French  drama  in  London,  and,  when  she  assented, 
suggested  "  L'Aventuriere." 


GENEVIEVE    WARD. 


175 


"Is  not  that  your  mother?"  said  the  Prince,  seeing 
a  lady  passing  the  green-room  door.  "  Will  you  pre- 
sent her?" 

He  complimented  Mrs.  Ward  upon  the  grand  talent 
her  daughter  displayed,  and  tendered  the  most  grace- 
ful compliments  from  the  Princess  of  Wales  upon  the 
same  theme. 

On  another  occasion,  when  calling  upon  Miss  Ward 
in  the  green-room  after  the  play,  he  was  accompanied 
by  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh,  Prince  Teck,  and  a  Rus- 
sian nobleman.  The  Prince  of  Wales  showed  to  Miss 
Ward  some  fine  portraits  of  herself  which  he  and  the 
Princess  of  Wales  had  selected,  and  begged  she  would 
do  him  the  honor  to  write  her  name  upon  them  as  a 
souvenir  of  the  pleasant  hours  passed  in  witnessing  her 
performance. 

While  they  were  conversing,  Miss  Ward,  hearing  the 
jingle  of  the  bells  worn  by  her  tiny  pet  dog  who  ac- 
companies her  everywhere,  and  fearing  he  might  stray 
off,  called  out,  "  Come  here,  Teck  !  " 

The  gentlemen  started;  and  Miss  Ward  hastily 
apologized,  recollecting  the  name  of  one  of  her  dis- 
tinguished visitors,  — 

"  My  little  dog's  name  is  Teck,  —  short  for  Thecla, 
a  German  character  in  one  of  my  plays." 

They  all  laughed  heartily ;  and  in  came  the  little  fel- 
low with  the  princely  name,  and  straightway  rushed  at 
the  Duke  of  Edinburgh,  who  had  shaken  his  hat  in 
token  of  friendly  intentions. 

"  She  will  bite  me  !  "  exclaimed  the  Duke. 

"  Basket,  Teck  !  "  cried  Miss  Ward  reprovingly ;  and 


176  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

the  little  creature,  who  is  as  obedient  to  her  mistress 
as  she  is  haughty  and  unapproachable  to  others,  ran 
out  of  the  room,  and  curled  up  in  her  basket. 

As  the  gentlemen  were  descending  the  stairs  after 
having  taken  their  leave,  Miss  Ward  heard  them  laugh- 
ing again,  and  plainly  distinguished  the  voice  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales  saying  merrily  to  his  cousin,  "  Basket, 
Teck  ! " 

Scarcely  had  they  gone,  when  the  Russian  nobleman 
who  had  been  with  them  returned,  and,  bowing  to 
Miss  Ward  with  an  expression  of  great  respect,  said, 
"  I  dare  not  tell  you  my  name  or  nationality,  for  fear 
you  will  hate  me ;  but  I  wish  once  again  to  express 
my  great  admiration  of  your  genius." 

"You  need  not  hesitate  to  admit  yourself  a  Rus- 
sian," replied  Miss  Ward.  "  I  am  the  widow  of  a  Rus- 
sian, but  I  love  your  emperor  for  all  his  kindness  to 
me." 

One  of  the  London  journals  had  the  following :  — 

"Genevieve  Ward  continues  to  delight  the  lovers  of  good 
acting  by  her  marvellously  artistic  personation  of  Stephanie,  in 
'  Forget  Me  Not,'  at  the  Prince  of  Wales's.  The  clever  actress 
has  twice  within  a  fortnight  been  honored  by  the  patronage  of 
H.  R.  H.  the  Prince  of  Wales,  who  has  been  liberal  in  his 
compliments  respecting  a  performance  which,  we  have  before 
said,  he  characterizes  as  the  most  perfect  he  has  witnessed 
apart  from  the  French  stage.  On  Thursday  evening  a  splendid 
audience  included  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bancroft,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kendal, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hare,  Mr.  Tom  Taylor,  and  Mr.  Forbes  Robert- 
son. At  the  close  of  the  play  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bancroft,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Kendal,  and  Mr.  Forbes  Robertson  congratulated  Miss 
Ward  in  the  green-room  upon  her  success,  and  warmly  compli- 
mented her  on  her  grand  performance.  This  little  scene  was 


GENEVJEVE    WARD.  Iff 

happily  described  by  Mr.  Kendal  as  '  the  fourth  act  of  "  Forget 
Me  Not,"  with  a  full  cast.'  " 

At  the  request  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  Hamilton 
Aide",  his  personal  friend,  and  well  known  as  novelist, 
poet,  and  musician,  arranged  a  private  entertainment 
at  his  own  residence,  at  which  Miss  Ward  played  in  a 
French  drama  with  M.  Marius,  with  her  usual  brilliant 
success. 

Miss  Ward  had  greatly  improved  upon  the  original 
version  of  "  Forget  Me  Not,"  in  many  little  points  of 
adaptation  called  for  by  her  own  conception  of  her 
rdle,  and  notably  strengthened  the  effect  of  the  last 
scene.  This  gave  rise  to  murmurs  from  the  authors, 
but  the  critics  upheld  the  artist.  Further  trouble  was 
occasioned  by  her  elimination  of  the  acting  character 
of  Rose,  the  piece  being  manifestly  improved  thereby. 

Meanwhile  a  proposal,  likely  to  have  proved  very 
interesting  had  it  been  carried  into  effect,  was  made  to 
Miss  Ward  by  Mrs.  Sabine  Greville,  a  lady  of  much 
aesthetic  cultivation,  and  fine  critical  taste,  and  a 
cousin  of  Hamilton  Aide's. 

This  lady  having  seen,  and  like  every  one  else  been 
greatly  impressed  by,  Miss  Ward's  Stephanie,  wrote  to 
her :  — 

MILFORD  COTTAGE,  GODALMING. 

DEAR  Miss  WARD,  —  Mrs.  Lewes  is  a  great  friend  and  near 
neighbor  of  mine ;  and,  in  telling  her  this  afternoon  of  your  mar- 
vellous talent  and  innate  genius,  I  was  reminded  of  a  piece  she 
wrote  some  years  ago,  "  Armgart,"  which  I  imagine  you  could 
appreciate.  Mr.  Lewes,  who  was  certainly  the  greatest  dra- 
matic authority  in  Europe,  has  often  said  "  Armgart "  would 
have  succeeded  in  Paris.  ...  I  remember  Rachel  and  Desolee, 


178  GENE  VIE  VE    WARD. 

and,  until  I  saw  you,  never  imagined  I  should  have  the  happi- 
ness of  looking  on  their  like  again.  ...  If  you  should  ever 
play  "  Armgart,"  I  am  sure  Mrs.  Lewes's  highest  aspirations 
for  her  piece  would  be  satisfied. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

SABINE  GREVILLE. 

Later  Mrs.  Greville  wrote  :  — 

» 
"  I   have  been  talking  again  with  my  dear  neighbor  Mrs. 

Cross  (George  Eliot) ;  and  yesterday  she  spoke  so  anxiously 
about  '  Armgart,'  that  I  thought  I  would  venture  to  ask  you 
if  you  had  any  thought  of  it.  It  seems  to  me,  it  would  have 
a  tremendous  succts  de  curiositi,  apart  from  its  literary  merit, 
and  you  could  make  it  almost  a  monologue." 

"The  London  Observer"  of  April  25,  1880, 
stated  :  — 

"  A  mistake  underlies  the  statement  that  Miss  Genevieve 
Ward's  intended  performance  of  Angler's  '  L'Aventuriere '  at 
the  Prince  of  Wales  Theatre  was  in  any  way  suggested  by 
Madame  Bernhardt's  recent  assumption  of  the  rdle  of  Clorinde, 
at  the  Theatre  Fran9ais.  The  experiment  which  is  to  be  tried 
here  next  month  owes  its  origin  to  a  suggestion  made  by  the 
Prince  of  Wales  that  Miss  Ward  should  act  here  in  a  French 
play,  with  the  support  of  English  artists." 

At  that  time  Miss  Bernhardt  had  not  played 
"  L'Aventuriere,"  nor  was  it  known  that  she  was 
intending  to  do  so  :  in  accepting  the  Prince's  sugges- 
tion, Miss  Ward  could  not,  therefore,  have  been  in- 
fluenced by  a  wish  to  institute  a  comparison  between 
her  own  powers  and  those  of  the  French  artiste.  Be- 
fore Miss  Ward  appeared  as  Clorinde,  however,  Miss 
Bernhardt  had  attempted  and  failed  in  that  rdU  in 
Paris. 


GENE  VIE  VE    WARD.  179 

"The  Prince  of  Wales  advises  you  to  play  in  French  in 
London  ?  [wrote  M.  Regnier.]  I  find  his  advice  very  good,  and 
I  also  think  that  'Forget  Me  Not'  in  English  might  have  a 
great  success  in  Paris.  '  L'Aventuriere  '  is  a  piece  which  suits 
you  exactly." 

Most  of  the  critics  in  debating  this  novel  undertak- 
ing predicted  failure  ;  and  a  writer  in  "  The  Standard  " 
singularly  enough  predicted  it  on  the  one  point  where 
there  could  be  no  two  opinions,  —  her  French  pronun- 
ciation. Miss  Ward  sent  the  paper  to  M.  Regnier, 
who  replied :  — 

RUE  DE  ROME,  PARIS, 
May  6,  1880. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  —  When  the  talent  of  an  artist  is  attacked, 
the  best  thing  for  him  to  do  is  to  answer  with  the  talent  itself, 
and  in  no  other  manner.  Do  you  remember  the  philosopher 
in  whose  hearing  movement  was  denied,  and  who,  instead  of 
answering,  began  to  walk  ?  A  journalist  considers  it  impossible 
that  you  should  play  in  French.  Is  not  French  your  own  lan- 
guage ?  And  when,  in  Paris  itself,  you  played  one  whole  act 
of  a  tragedy  in  French  alexandrines,  at  the  Porte  St.  Martin, 
was  there  one  person  in  the  house  who  could  have  suspected 
that  it  was  not  a  French  actress  whom  he  beheld  on  the  stage  ? 
Play  in  French  in  London,  and  no  English  ear  will  have  the 
right  to  reproach  you  with  your  pronunciation  or  your  accent, 
since  the  subtlety  of  our  own  organs  never  permitted  us  to  do  so. 
Indeed,  I  do  not  understand  the  criticism  of  the  writer  in  "  The 
Standard ;  "  for  he  is  not  serious  when  he  imputes  to  you  and  to 
your  English  companions  the  absurd  idea  of  wishing  to  teach 
Frenchmen  at  once  their  own  language,  and  how  to  play  their 
own  comedies  in  it.  In  my  opinion,  on  the  contrary,  the  ex- 
periment you  are  about  to  make  is  a  most  remarkable  one, 
which  cannot  fail  to  be  flattering  to  English  amour-propre. 
Nor  can  it  fail,  in  my  opinion,  to  pique  the  honor  of  the  come- 
dians of  my  own  country.  I  can  assure  you,  that  if  it  were  to 


GENEVIEVE    WARD. 


be  announced  in  Paris  that  "  The  School  for  Scandal  "  was  to 
be  played  in  English  by  Got,  Coquelin,  Delauney,  and  Mile. 
Croizette,  no  one  would  laugh  at  the  attempt,  no  one  would 
believe  that  Moliere  was  insufficient  for  them,  no  one  would  tax 
them  with  a  ridiculous  vanity  :  it  would  be  considered  a  proof 
of  the  spirit,  of  the  knowledge,  and  the  intelligence  of  those 
eminent  actors.  It  is  thus,  my  dear  friend,  that  you  should  ask 
some  one  of  your  friends  to  reply  to  the  critic  of  "  The  Stand- 
ard." Let  the  question  be  discussed,  but  do  not,  on  any  ac- 
count, take  part  in  the  discussion.  An  artist  —  and,  above  all, 
a  lady  —  can  never,  with  a  good  grace,  make  a  matter  of  this 
kind  personal.  If,  as  I  do  not  doubt,  the  critic  of  "The  Stand- 
ard "  wrote  in  good  faith,  when  he  is  once  enlightened  on  the 
real  nature  ot  your  enterprise  he  will  come  and  hear  you,  will 
recognize  that  you  speak  French  as  I  do,  or  rather  like  a  Parisi- 
enne  ;  and,  if  he  once  feared  ridicule  for  you,  he  will  be  all  the 
more  disposed,  having  heard  you,  to  give  you  the  praise  you 
merit." 


The  young  poet  whose  verses  are  at  this  time  of 
writing  provoking  both  trenchant  criticism  and  recog- 
nition on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  —  the  son  of  Lady 
Wilde,  herself  a  poet  of  high  repute,  and  a  firm  friend 
of  Miss  Ward's,  —  wrote  the  following  note  to  the 
tragedienne  :  — 

ST.  STEPHEN'S  CLUB,  WESTMINSTER. 

DEAR  Miss  WARD,  —  I  suppose  you  are  very  busy  with 
your  rehearsals.  If  you  are  not  too  busy  to  stop  and  drink  tea 
with  a  great  admirer  of  yours,  please  come  on  Friday  at  half- 
past  five  to  13  Salisbury  Street.  The  two  beauties  —  Lady 
Lonsdale  and  Mrs.  Langtry  —  and  mamma,  and  a  few  friends 
are  coming.  We  are  all  looking  forward  to  "  L'Aventuriere  " 
so  much  :  it  will  be  a  great  era  in  our  dramatic  art. 
Yours  most  sincerely, 

OSCAR  WILDE. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  l8l 

On  the  Sunday  previous  to  her  appearance  as  Clo- 
rinde,  Miss  Ward  went  to  Paris,  rehearsed  her  part  to 
Regnier,  and,  returning  to  London  the  next  day,  went 
direct  from  the  depot  to  the  theatre,  and  played  that 
night,  Monday,  May  10,  with  a  success  confessed  on 
all  sides  to  be  complete.  The  following  quotation 
from  a  leading  London  journal  is  a  fair  illustration  of 
the  full  chorus  of  applause  :  — 

"  Miss  Genevieve  Ward,  whose  performance  of  the  hunted 
and  strong-willed  Stephanie  in  the  new  play  '  Forget  Me  Not ' 
has  so  astonished  and  excited  the  students  of  dramatic  art, 
stands  sponsor  for  an  experiment  that  we  believe  to  be  as  origi- 
nal as  it  is  interesting.  Not  only  England,  with  its  traditional 
honesty  and  occasional  self-depreciation,  but  the  great  dramatic 
France  herself,  and  indeed  every  nation  that  has  a  drama  of  its 
own,  will  be  astonished  to  hear  that  '  L'Aventuriere '  of  Emile 
Augier  has  been  played  in  this  country,  by  English  artists,  in 
its  original  language.  French  actors  and  actresses  have  come 
to  England,  English  actors  and  actresses  have  struggled  to 
obtain  a  footing  in  France ;  but  now  for  the  first  time  a  French 
classical  play  has  been  given  in  French  by  English  artists,  and 
with  such  success,  that,  if  we  mistake  not,  the  art  world,  hungry 
for  novelty,  will  demand  an  instant  repetition  of  this  valuable 
curiosity.  Much  is  constantly  said  in  depreciation  of  the  Eng- 
lish school  as  compared  to  that  of  Paris ;  but,  however  sin- 
cerely we  may  admire  the  facility  of  our  neighbors,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  believe  that  a  picked  troupe  of  the  comedians  of  Paris 
would  do  as  much  justice  to,  say, '  The  School  for  Scandal '  of 
Sheridan,  as  has  been  done  to  the  work  of  Augier  by  Miss 
Genevieve  Ward  and  her  clever  companions.  They  could 
scarcely  dare  attempt  what  has  not  only  been  tried  here,  but 
has  succeeded  ;  and,  looking  at  the  matter  purely  as  a  commer- 
cial speculation,  the  rendering  of  Augier's  '  L'Aventuriere  '  by 
English-speaking  artists,  if  it  could  be  transferred  bodily  to 
Paris  to-morrow  evening,  would  probably  do  more  to  honor  the 


1 82  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

credit  of  English  art  across  the  Channel  than  any  thing  that  has 
been  done  in  the  matter  of  persuasion  for  many  years.  Miss 
Genevieve  Ward,  fortified  by  the  advice  and  encouragement  of 
her  master  Rcgnier,  has  left  nothing  undone  that  would  make 
the  experiment  fail  for  lack  of  endeavor.  She  wanted  to  show 
what  England  could  do,  and  she  has  fairly  proved  her  case. 
She  wanted,  in  no  spirit  of  affectation  or  vain-gloriousness,  to 
show  how  much  the  best  teachings  of  the  French  dramatic  mas- 
ters are  valued  in  this  country,  how  we  can  sift  the  good  from 
the  bad,  how  we  are  able  to  discriminate  and  select  between 
soundness  and  artificiality ;  and  now  the  only  regret  is,  that  the 
dramatic  doctors  of  Paris  will  only  hear  second-hand  of  the 
unquestionable  success  of  this  interesting  experiment.  Miss 
Ward,  in  the  character  of  Clorinde,  may  be  criticised  in  com- 
parison to  the  first  French  actresses  of  her  time.  In  this  play 
she  is,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  a  French  woman,  faultless  in 
accent,  and  with  all  the  traditions  of  the  old  classical  school. 
Her  master  is  Regnier ;  her  diploma  of  excellence  has  been 
presented  to  her  by  Sarcey ;  and  it  was  Got  who  offered  her  a 
position  in  the  Comedie  Fran9aise,  saying  she  had  less  to 
unlearn  than  her  companions,  seeing  that  her  accent  was  free 
from  the  provincialisms  that  hampered  the  first  artists  in  Paris. 
If  there  is  one  actress  recalled  more  than  another  by  Miss 
Ward,  it  is  Favart  in  her  earlier  and  more  impulsive  days, 
before  she  was  hindered  by  the  artificiality  acquired  by  a  train- 
ing in  old  comedy.  Those  who  go  to  see  '  L'Aventuriere,"  as 
acted  at  the  suggestion  of  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  expect  simply  a  curiosity,  will  be  agreeably  mis- 
taken. They  will  find  a  French  play  acted  as  is  seldom  found 
even  in  Paris.  One  question  remains.  What  is  there  in  the 
French  language,  its  flow,  its  point,  and  its  adaptability  for 
dramatic  action,  that  so  fascinates  and  grips  the  auditor  ? 
These  artists  have  all  caught  the  echo  of  the  Parisian  dramatic 
manner,  and  consequently  they  all  seem  to  be  better  actors  than 
they  were  before.  When  they  speak  English,  why  are  we  so 
deceived  ? 

"  The  enthusiastic  applause  of  the  fashionable  audience  fill- 


CENEVIEVE    WARD.  183 

ing  the  theatre  yesterday  afternoon  attested  at  every  opportunity 
the  high  gratification  derived  from  this  remarkable  perform- 
ance ;  and  the  presence  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales, 
with  the  Grand  Duke  of  Hesse,  added  to  the  interest  of  the 
occasion. 

The  London  correspondent  of  the  "Gaulois  "  wrote 
to  that  journal  in  Paris  a  just  and  eloquent  tribute  to 
Miss  Ward's  successful  undertaking.  But  a  French 
actress,  who  had  just  failed  in  "  L'Aventuriere,"  not 
finding  this  eulogium  of  Miss  Ward  to  her  taste,  pre- 
vailed on  the  editor  of  the  "  Gaulois  "  to  cut  it  short ; 
and  the  article  appeared  with  Miss  Ward's  name 
erroniously  printed  "  Harel."  The  writer  of  the  notice 
wrote  at  once  to  Miss  Ward,  explaining  the  case  :  — 

"  I  have  remonstrated  [said  he] ;  and  they  answered,  '  Ne- 
cessity of  printing,  Greve  is  in  France,  death  of  Flaubert,"  etc., 
etc.  I  have  re-remonstrated,  and  have  at  last  enforced  the 
little  rectification  which  I  send  you." 

And  which  consisted  in  a  small  paragraph  giving  the 
name  correctly. 

From  masses  of  congratulatory  letters  I  have  se- 
lected :  — 

8  CHESTER  PIACE,  HYDE  PARK  SQUARE,  W. 
May  n,  1880. 

DEAR  Miss  GENEVIEVE  WARD,  —  We  thought  your  experi- 
ment most  interesting ;  a  bold  one  unquestionably,  but  a  har- 
dies se  jtistifile  by  the  result.  I  should  not  have  thought  it  pos- 
sible to  get  even  a  nominally  English  company  together,  capable 
of  doing  so  well.  We  all  knew  beforehand  that  your  own 
French  was  perfect,  but  the  risk  lay  in  the  support,  of  course ; 
and,  much  as  some  of  your  comrades  may  be  criticised,  it  went 
well  to  the  end.  Some  of  us  found  your  Clorinde  perhaps  a 


184  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

little  more  hard  and  tragical  than  she  would  be  on  a  second 
performance,  but  full  of  power,  and  with  many  fine  points ;  and, 
as  one  much  indebted  to  you  for  the  pleasure  of  witnessing  it, 
believe  me, 

Yours  sincerely, 

G.  W.  SMALLEY. 

An  artist  who  made  his  "hit"  as  Green  Jones  in 
"  Ticket-of- Leave  Man,"  and  who  has  played  the  Fool 
in  "  King  Lear  "  with  Booth,  and  went  to  the  provinces 
as  Prince  Malleotti  in  Miss  Ward's  "  Forget  Me  Not " 
tour,  wrote  this  :  — 

45  RATH  BONE  PLACE,  W. 
May  ii. 

DEAR  Miss  WARD,  —  I  cannot  resist  the  temptation  of  add- 
ing my  congratulations  to  those  which  are  upon  everybody's 
lips  to-day.  Your  performance  in  French  is,  in  my  opinion,  the 
greatest  triumph  an  English  actress  has  ever  achieved,  or  a 
French  one  either.  You  are  at  present  the  sensation  of  Lon- 
don, and  I  hope  we  may  be  fortunate  enough  to  retain  you  as 
such  for  a  long  time  to  come.  Mrs.  Charles  joins  me  most  cor- 
dially in  congratulations  upon  your  last  victory,  and  I  am 
Very  truly  yours, 

F.  CHARLES. 

The  friend  and  patron  of  Irving,  and  mother  of 
Kate  Bateman,  asked  to  be  allowed  — 

"  To  offer  my  best  congratulations  on  your  achievement  in 
not  only  placing  yourself  on  a  level  with  the  best  French  artists, 
but  presenting  an  entire  performance,  which,  I  am  told,  com- 
pares favorably  with  any  thing  the  French  company  here  give 
to  the  London  public.  All  this  speaks  volumes,  not  only  for 
the  ability,  but  the  energy,  that  has  secured  such  a  triumph,  as 
legitimate  as  it  is  unprecedented." 


GENE VI EVE    WARD.  185 

MILFORD  COTTAGE,  GODALMING. 

DEAR  MADAM,  —  You  are  doubtless  overwhelmed  with  con- 
gratulations, but  I  cannot  help  adding  mine.  Clorinde  was  so 
absolutely  perfect,  one  forgot  the  tremendous  tour  de  force  you 
accomplished  working  up  the  whole  play.  I  could  not  help 
wishing,  all  the  time,  you  could  remember  Racine. 
Most  truly  and  admiringly  yours, 

SABINE  GREVILLE. 

DEAR  FRIEND,  —  Every  one  has  been  telling  of  you,  and 
praising  you.  One  critic  said  you  had  the  finest  voice  on  the 
English  stage,  the  most  capable  of  the  subtlest,  swiftest  changes 
and  modulations  of  passion  and  power.  I  was  at  Mr.  May's 
studio;  and  there  your  Cleopatra  head,  your  splendid  eyes,  your 
perfect  artistic  movements  which  yet  seemed  so  natural,  were 
all  discussed,  and  keenly  appreciated.  In  your  Lucrezia  you 
realize  all  that  Victor  Hugo  could  have  dreamed :  I  wish  he 
could  have  seen  you.  In  the  new  play  you  are  also  the  vrai 
Parisienne  femme  du  monde :  every  movement  arid  gesture  was 

so  French.  ...  I  hope  you  will  take  young into  favor : 

he  is  anxious  to  act  with  you,  and  with  his  delicate  Italian  face 
he  would  make  such  a  gennaro.  Mr.  Forbes  Robertson  was 
here  yesterday.  He  is  very  charming,  and  admires  your  genius 
enthusiastically.  Mr.  G.  W.  Wills  was  also  here,  and  spoke 
much  of  you.  .  .  .  You  have  waked  me  to  new  life  with  all 
your  splendid  manifestations  of  genius  and  beauty.  .  .  . 
Affectionately, 

"SPERANZA"  (LADY  WILDE). 

9  ROCHESTER  SQUARE,  LONDON. 
May  27, 1880. 

DEAR  Miss  WARD,  —  Words  would  not  convey  my  feelings, 
therefore  I  will  not  say  any  thing ;  and  yet  I  must  say  I  shall 
always  feel  so  proud  to  have  been  connected  with  the  first 
attempt  of  French  plays  by  English  artists.  I  have  not  only  to 
thank  you  for  your  beautiful  and  artistic  present,  but  for  your 
kindness  toward  me  during  our  rehearsals ;  for  whatever  suc- 
cess I  mav  have  met  with  at  the  performances,  I  owe  you  a 


!86  GENE VI EVE    WARD. 

great  part  of  it,  if  not  all,  as  I  learned  more  from  you  in  fhree 
weeks  than  I  would  have  done  in  three  years  from  a  less  com- 
petent stage-manager  than  yourself.  Once  more,  thank  you,  and 
believe  me  most  sincerely  yours, 

D.  MARIUS. 

The  success  of  "  Forget  Me  Not "  continued  una- 
bated, the  last  performance  being  given  on  the  night 
of  the  24th  of  July,  to  one  of  the  finest  audiences  ever 
crowded  into  the  Prince  of  Wales  Theatre ;  and  never 
did  English  press  and  public  unite  to  pass  more  capa- 
ble and  copious  praise  upon  a  dramatic  representa- 
tion. 

The  dramatic  critic  Davey  wrote  :  — 

"  You  make  '  Forget  Me  Not '  great,  for  it  is  not  a  great 
play.  I  have  never  seen  any  thing  finer  than  your  acting  of  the 
part ;  all  the  more  remarkable  and  interesting  to  me,  because  I 
have  known  a  woman  of  this  class,  who  might  have  sat  for  the 
model  of  the  Marquise." 

The  following  came  from  the  distinguished  pianiste 
Mile.  Laure  Colmache  :  — 

"  What  immense  pleasure  last  night !  I  have  joy  and  pride 
in  your  talent  and  your  triumphs ;  and  with  what  satisfaction 
did  we  see  that  room  well  ornamented,  and  the  beautiful  public 

worthy  of  you !     R was  breathless  all  the  time,  but  almost 

cried  to  see  her  '  cousin  Jenny '  in  so  cruel  a  rdle.  I  do  not 
know  if  there  be  a  little  grain  of  ferocity  in  your  composition  : 
but  it  is  certain  that  the  role  suits  you  admirably,  and  that  you 
tfirow  out  your  little  wickednesses  with  a  spirit  and  naturalness 
that  renders  the  illusion  complete  ;  but  I  think  that  in  deposit- 
ing your  famous  blonde  wig  on  your  own  toilet-table,  you  also 
deposit  therewith  your  tiger's  daws  I " 

The  pretty  and  deservedly  popular  English  come- 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  iP,/ 

dienne    Mrs.  Kendall   sent  this  little  tender  ejacula- 
tion :  — 

DEARIE, —  I'm  so  glad  of  your  big  success  I     Will  come  and 
see  you  the  first  minute  I  have  to  myself. 
Kind  love  from 

MADGE. 

Miss  Ward  thinks  Madge  Kendall  is  the  greatest 
English  actress.  "  She  is  an  honor  to  the  stage  in 
every  way,"  said  Miss  Ward  to  me.  "  She  is  the  sister 
to  Robertson,  who  wrote  all  the  comedies  for  the  Prince 
of  Wales  Theatre,  and  was  the  original  Galatea  of  Gil- 
bert's comedy.  Her  Rosalind  and  Pauline,  and  Susan 
in  '  William  and  Susan,'  are  marvellous  performances. 
As  woman,  wife,  mother,  and  friend,  she  has  every 
quality,  and  is  lovely  and  true  in  all." 

8  CHESTER  PLACE,  HYDE  PARK  SQUARE,  W. 

I  was  surprised  and  delighted  by  your  performance  on  Sat- 
urday. Pardon  me  if  I  say  surprised :  it  is  only  because  I  had 
not  seen  you  earlier  in  this  piece ;  for  though  I  go  nightly  to  the 
theatre  when  in  Paris,  there  is  little  in  London,  as  a  rule,  that 
I  care  for,  and  it  is  long  since  I  have  seen  any  thing  here  so 
finished  and  admirable  as  your  Marquise  de  Mohrivart,  which 
I  mean  to  see  again  at  an  early  day. 

Yours  sincerely, 

G.  W.  SMALLEY. 

A  little  book  of  plays  sent  by  the  author  to  Miss 
Ward  was  accompanied  by  the  following  :  — 

3  SNOWDON  VILLAS,  KILBURN,  N.W. 

DEAR  Miss  WARD,  — Will  you  kindly  accept  the  accompa- 
nying little  book  as  a  small  token  of  my  admiration  for  your 
great  talent  ?  I  am  not  of  the  number  of  those  clergymen  who 


I(<58  CENEVIEVE    WARD. 

ignore  the  stage,  and  place  the  pulpit  immeasurably  above  it 
Each  may  in  its  way  contribute  to  the  general  enlightenment 
of  the  human  race.  I  venture  to  hope  that  you  are  as  little  an- 
tagonistic to  my  profession  as  I  am  to  yours ;  and  that  I  may 
subscribe  myself  very  truly  your  friend, 

F.  W.  B.  BOUVERIE. 

An  actor  in  Madame  Modjeska's  dramatic  company 
wrote  to  Miss  Ward  :  — 

"  I  have  just  left  the  '  Prince  of  Wales,'  and  I  don't  know 
when  I  have  been  so  honestly  moved.  Praise  from  a  mere  tyro 
like  myself,  after  all  you  have  received,  would  be  almost  an 
impertinence ;  still  you  will  let  me  tell  you  that  I  saw  the  per- 
formance to-day  with  two  other  actors,  and  not  one  of  us  had 
dry  eyes  at  the  end.  It  is  such  performances  as  yours  which 
give  hope  and  encouragement  to  young  actors.  I  sincerely 
trust  you  will  not  think  this  an  impertinence,  but  find  in  it  a 
respectable  and  humble  tribute  to  a  consummate  mistress  of  a 
noble  art. 

"  Obediently  yours, 

"  ARTHUR  DACRK." 

"You  have  given  a  depth  and  pathos  to  the  character" 
[wrote  Lady  Wilde]  "of  which,  from  the  text,  I  did  not  think 
it  capable ;  and  we  see  revealed  in  a  most  subtle  and  admirably 
artistic  manner  that  most  touching  of  all  dramas,  the  striving 
upward  of  a  woman's  soul,  through  all  the  sin  of  the  past  and 
the  degradation  it  brings.  I  do  not  wonder  at  tears :  they  were 
in  my  own  eyes  last  night,  as  I  witnessed  the  bitter  and  terrible 
sorrow  over  her  own  fallen  self  that  lay  under  all  the  simulated 
levity  and  light  coquetry  of  the  unhappy  Stephanie.  You  have 
re-created  the  character,  and  given  it  a  diviner  soul." 

Mile.  Zara  Thalberg,  daughter  of  the  great  pianist 
and  a  successful  singer  at  Covent  Garden,  sent  a  little 


GENEVIEVE    WARD. 


189 


message  of  delighted  appreciation  from  herself  and  her 
grandmother,  the  great  singer  Dangri. 

"What  shall  I  say?"  [wrote  Mrs.  Louise  Chandler  Moul- 
ton.]  "  You  electrified  me  1  It  was  throughout  a  wonderful  im- 
personation, but  the  last  act  thrilled  me  as  I  have  seldom  been 
thrilled  in  my  life.  It  is  not  in  my  power  to  express  the  extent 
to  which  you  moved  me  :  praise  seems  so  weak  beside  the  pas- 
sionate strength  of  that  grand  last  act." 

The  popular  English  novelist  Farjeon  said  in  his 
meed  of  praise  :  — 

"  Mrs.  Farjeon  was  delighted,  —  and  frightened  too,  —  and  I 
enjoyed  it  more  than  I  did  at  the  Lyceum.  There's  not  an 
actress  here,  and  certainly  none  in  America,  who  could  create 
and  play  Stephanie  with  such  appropriate  power." 

The  eminent  and  clever  critic  Mr.  Richard  White- 
ing,  who  wrote  in  "  The  Manchester  Guardian  "  —  and 
before  ever  having  met  Miss  Ward  —  the  first  apprecia- 
tive and  adequate  review  of  her  Lady  Macbeth,  wrote 
to  her  from  Paris  concerning  her  Stephanie  :  — 

"  It  is  of  course  in  one  sense  entirely  superfluous  to  praise 
your  art  in  '  Forget  Me  Not ; '  but  as  with  a  great  picture,  so 
with  a  great  piece  of  acting,  —  every  critic  naturally  likes  to  say 
something  about  it,  and  to  study  it  over  and  over  again  in  new 
lights.  You  have  one  of  the 'most  appreciative  critics  in  Mr. 
E.  R.  Russell,1  of  whose  praise  I  will  go  so  far  as  to  say  even 
you  may  be  proud,  and  that  is  indeed  saying  a  good  deal.  I 
could  almost  wish  for, my  own  selfish  sake  that  you  were  not 
winning  such  triumphs  in  England ;  for  I  suppose  we  shall  see 
you  even  more  rarely  than  ever  on  this  side  of  the  Channel, 
unless  you  allow  yourself  to  be  tempted  to  come  over  and  take 
that  place  at  the  Theatre  Francais  which  I  am  sure  will  always 
be  open  to  you." 

1  Author  of  a  celebrated  pamphlet  on  The  Place  and  Power  of  Criticism. 


190 


GENE VI EVE    WAKD. 


Perhaps  that  laurel  which  binds  permanently  and 
indisputably  the  bays  of  fame  upon  her  brows  may  be 
said  to  have  come  to  Miss  Ward  with  this  letter  :  — 

PARIS,  July  18, 1880. 

DEAR  MADAME,  —  Have  you  arranged  for  next  season?  If 
not,  would  you  feel  disposed  to  accept  an  engagement  of  four 
months,  with  the  right  of  extension  on  my  part,  for  the  United 
States,  commencing  about  the  end  of  November  next,  to  play 
your  piece,  "  Forget  Me  Not,"  and  other  pieces,  four  times  a 
week  ?  The  limited  number  of  performances  may  surprise  you ; 
but,  having  engaged  Signor  Salvini  to  play  three  times  a  week, 
I  would  like  to  make  a  combination,  you  to  play  alternate 
nights ;  and  as  Madame  Ristori  gives  me  to  understand  you 
speak  Italian  fluently,  I  think  it  it  would  be  possible  to  arrange 
—  you  being  willing  to  do  so  —  that  you  should  play  Macbeth 
and  some  of  his  other  pieces  with  Salvini. 

You  know,  America  is  the  country  for  such  combinations ; 
and  your  name  with  that  of  Salvini  would,  I  feel  sure,  prove  a 
great  attraction. 

The  company  to  support  you,  travelling,  theatres,  etc.,  etc., 
would  be  paid  by  me.  Please  let  me  know  if  you  are  disposed 
to  accept,  and  on  what  terms,  sharing  or  certainty.  I  am  not 
personally  known  to  you ;  but  my  name  must  be,  as  Madame 
Ristori  and  Signor  Salvini  have  both  been  to  America  under 
my  management.  What  is  still  more  to  the  purpose,  I  am 
ready  to  offer  you  any  reasonable  guaranty  you  may  require 
for  the  fulfilment  of  the  agreement. 

Have  the  kindness  to  answer  me  at  once,  as  I  am  dependent 
on  your  acceptance  or  refusal  to  arrange  other  matters. 
Yours  most  respectfully, 

C.  A.  CHIZZOLA. 

Miss  Ward's  engagements  prevented  her  acceptance 
of  this  offer,  but  the  tour  with  Salvini  will  probably  be 
made  in  the  course  of  a  few  months. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD. 


191 


During  the  summer  the  Rotterdam  company  had 
produced  in  London  the  drama,  "Annie  Mie,"  for 
which  its  author,  Rosier  Faarsen,  had  received  the 
competitive  prize  for  dramatic  literature  in  Belgium. 
"  Annie  Mie  "  had  been  a  triumph  on  the  Holland 
stage  :  in  England,  though  admired  by  the  best  judges, 
it  had  not  been  remunerative  ;  and,  just  as  the  Dutch 
company  were  about  leaving  London,  the  following 
letter  came  to  Miss  Ward :  — 

47  MECKLENBURG  SQUARE. 

DEAR  Miss  WARD,  —  I  should  take  it  as  a  great  favor  if  you 
would  oblige  me  by  throwing  over  any  engagement  you  may 
have  for  next  Thursday,  and  dining  here  at  three.  The  fact  is, 
the  Dutch  company  are  going  away,  having  been  very  unsuccess- 
ful ;  and  I  don't  like  it  to  be  said,  that  such  good  artists  came  to 
England,  and  received  no  civility.  Hence  I  have  thrown  myself 
into  the  breach,  and  asked  them  here  on  Thursday.  But  I 
must  have  a  lady  to  do  the  honors ;  and  I  expect  Stephanie  de 
Mohrivart  to  help  me  out  of  the  difficulty. 

Ever  truly  yours, 

L.  WINGFIELD. 

Towards  the  close  of  Miss  Ward's  provincial  tour, 
the  journals  began  to  publish  announcements  to  the 
effect  that  Miss  Ward  had  bought  the  Dutch  play, 
"  Annie  Mie,"  and  was  having  it  translated,  adapted, 
and  revised  for  representation  in  English  at  the  Prince 
of  Wales's  Theatre  in  November. 

"  Miss  Ward  herself  stage-manages  the  piece  with  a  view  to 
proving  —  what  will  not  be  easy  —  that  the  Dutch  performers 
can  be  excelled  in  this  important  matter.  The  part  played  by 
Miss  Beersmans  is  so  different  from  those  Miss  Ward  has  played 
in  this  country,  and  the  interest  is  so  entirely  domestic  and 


IQ2  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

pathetic,  that  her  performance  will  be  watched  with  much 
interest.  If  it  is  marked  by  the  same  fidelity  to  nature  as  that 
of  Stephanie,  it  will  simply  prove  Miss  Ward  one  of  the  most 
versatile,  as  she  is  known  to  be  one  of  the  most  talented, 
actresses  living." 

On  the  25th  of  September  Miss  Ward  re-appeared 
at  the  Prince  of  Wales's  in  "  Forget  Me  Not,"  with  the 
part  of  Rose  excised  :  the  critics  approved  the  change. 
Mr.  Merivale  complained  in  an  open  letter  to  the 
press :  he  had  rented  a  house,  and  the  tenant  had 
coolly  knocked  out  one  room  in  it  which  didn't  happen 
to  strike  his  fancy !  Hence  —  damages,  my  lord, 
damages  ! 

Somebody,  struck  with  this  argument,  intimated  the 
presence  of  a  flaw  therein ;  declaring  that  the  tenant 
did  not  knock  out  the  room,  but  simply  turned  the 
key  in  the  door,  and  declined  to  use  it.  Dion  Bouci- 
cault,  scenting  the  fray,  whipt  nimbly  to  the  front,  and 
shouted  encouragingly  to  Mr.  Merivale,  "  Steboy ! 
St !  St !  At  him  !  that's  a  good  fellow  !  "  and  ten- 
dered to  Mr.  Merivale,  in  an  open  letter  to  the  press, 
the  Disraelian  advice,  — 

"  Let's  have  a  congress,  —  of  dramatic  authors,  —  to 
settle  the  yeasting  question  of  English  playwrights' 
interests,"  etc.,  etc. 

The  newspapers  wheeled  into  line  on  both  sides  of 
the  Atlantic,  and  contributed  an  able  running  com- 
ment of  query  and  suggestion.  Punch  waxed  funny 
with  imaginary  dialogues  on  the  matter  :  nothing  was 
settled  ;  Miss  Ward  continued  to  play  to  crowded  and 
admiring  houses;  and  "The  Daily  'leiegraph"  of 
Sept.  30  had  the  following  :  — 


CENEVIEVE    WARD.  1 93 

(Before  LORD  COLERIDGE.) 

MERIVALE  V.  WARD. 

This  was  a  motion  for  an  injunction  to  restrain  the  defendant 
from  performing,  or  allowing  to  be  performed,  the  play  of  "  For- 
get Me  Not,"  with  the  omission  of  one  of  the  characters.  It 
appeared  that  the  plaintiffs,  Messrs.  Merivale  and  Grove,  are 
the  proprietors  of  the  play,  and  the  defendant,  Miss  Genevieve 
Ward,  had  purchased  from  them  the  sole  right  of  representa- 
tion for  five  years  from  1879. 

Mr.  Woodruffe  appeared  for  the  defendant,  and  objected 
that  the  matter  was  not  vacation  business. 

His  lordship  said  the  motion  was  for  an  injunction  to  restrain 
a  performance  now  going  on,  and  in  his  opinion  was  properly 
vacation  business. 

Mr.  Woodroffe  contended  that  the  character  omitted  was 
not  an  important  one,  and  that  the  plaintiffs  had  sustained  no 
damage  whatever.  The  learned  counsel  handed  up  a  copy  of 
the  play,  in  which  the  part  in  question  was  struck  out  in  pencil 
by  the  plaintiff  Merivale  himself.  A  letter  was  also  produced, 
in  which  Mr.  Merivale  said  the  play  was  much  too  lengthy,  and 
was  improved  by  the  omission  of  the  character  Rose. 

Mr.  Ford  said  that  Mr.  Grove,  the  joint  author  of  the  play, 
did  not  agree  with  this  view. 

Lord  Coleridge  observed  that  Mr.  Grove  had  made  no  affi- 
davit in  the  case. 

Mr.  Ford  said  this  was  owing  to  his  absence  on  the  Conti- 
nent, and  asked  that  the  motion  might  be  adjourned. 

His  lordship  refused  to  adjourn  the  motion,  and,  in  deliver- 
ing judgment,  said  that  before  the  plaintiffs  could  be  entitled 
to  the  injunction  asked  for,  they  must  show,  first,  that  there 
had  been  a  breach  of  the  agreement ;  secondly,  that  they  were 
suffering  serious  damage  by  such  breach ;  thirdly,  that  the 
damage  would  be  irreparable  if  the  court  did  not  grant  the 
injunction.  Upon  none  of  these  points  had  the  plaintiffs  suc- 
ceeded; and  it  was  therefore  his  duty  to  refuse  the  motion,  with 
costs. 


194  GENE VI EVE    WARD. 

On  the  ist  of  November  Miss  Ward  appeared  as 
Annie  Mie  at  the  Prince  of  Wales's  Theatre ;  the  Prince 
and  Princess  of  Wales  were  present  (which  they  are 
not  usually  on  a  first  night),  and  the  Princess  warmly 
applauded  the  tragedienne,  as  did  also  the  large  and 
eclectic  audience ;  and  Miss  Ward  played  with  ad- 
mirable artistic  fidelity :  yet  something  was  felt  to  be 
wanting ;  and  an  adverse  verdict  was  pronounced  by 
the  press  with  almost  the  unanimity  which  had  char- 
acterized the  praises  of  "  Forget  Me  Not."  As  George 
Augustus  Sala  observed  in  an  early  note  of  comment 
to  Miss  Ward  :  — 

"  Though  you  are  admirable  in  Annie  Mie,  the  part  is  not 
suited  to  you :  it  is  a  great  way  below  your  artistic  capacity ;  and 
in  the  play  there  are  gallons  too  many  of  tears,  and  at  least 
eight  mourning  coaches  too  many.  I  have  been  obliged  to  say 
this  in  my  published  criticism,  —  doing  justice  to  your  own 
genius  and  dramatic  insight,  —  but  into  the  part  itself  I  have 
been  bound  to  pitch,  and  I  hope  you  know  I  am  too  true  a 
friend  of  yours  to  say  what  I  do  not  mean." 

Many  deemed  the  piece  too  intrinsically  Dutch  to 
be  susceptible  of  successful  adaptation  in  English.  Yet 
the  condemnation  of  the  critics  met  with  some  dis- 
tinguished protest,  as  the  following  letters  will  show. 

4  HOWLEY  PLACE,  MAIDA  HILL. 

DEAR  FRIEND,  —  I  was  delighted  with  your  performance  of 
Annie  Mie :  everybody  around  exclaimed  with  pleasure.  An 
elderly  critic  seated  next  to  me  had  come  a  long  distance  to  see 
you  in  your  new  rSle:  half  afraid,  he  confessed,  that,  after  a 
piece  demanding  such  violent  emotion  as  "  Forget  Me  Not," 
you  would  never  be  able  to  subdue  your  tone  to  that  of  such 
deep  tenderness  as  required  in  "Annie  Mie."  You  slu>i:ld 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  195 

have  seen  his  delight  when  he  found  his  fears  groundless.  In 
every  situation  you  came  out  beautifully,  and  the  sense  of  art 
which  made  you  keep  back  your  powers  till  the  situations  came 
made  them  of  the  more  value.  .  .  .  The  only  fault  to  me  is,  that 
there  is  too  little  of  you. 

Ever  affectionately, 

(MME.)  G.  COLMACHE. 

THE  GARDEN  MANSION,  QUEEN  ANNE'S  GATE, 
ST.  JAMES  PARK. 

DEAR  Miss  WARD,  —  I  write  to  tell  you  what  cordial  pleas- 
ure and  admiration  your  performance  elicited  from  Mrs.  Fanny 
Kemble  and  myself.  I  thought  it  quite  admirable,  so  measured, 
so  free  from  exaggeration,  so  profoundly  touching.  In  short, 
I  desired  nothing  altered  as  regards  yourself.  .  .  .  But  the  last 
act  is  terribly  too  long,  and  the  repetitions  of  the  fiend's  story. 
For  a  permanent  success  you  must  cut,  cut,  cut ! 
Ever  with  true  regard,  yours 

HAMILTON  AIDE". 

DEAR  Miss  WARD,  —  I  thought  your  acting  last  night  the 
perfection  of  sweetness,  but  I  do  fear  the  piece  is  disappointing : 
the  action  is  not  close  enough,  and  it's  too  long.  This  is  only 
my  humble  opinion,  but  that  which  was  pretty  generally  ex- 
pressed last  night  around  me  (in  the  pit)  was*  very  similar.  I 
never  met  an  artist  who  deserved  success  so  much  as  you  do. 
Faithfully  yours, 

F.  CHARLES. 

"  Annie  Mie  [wrote  Mrs.  Clarke,  wife  of  the  equerry  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales]  is  certainly  the  most  beautifully  expressed 
idyl  I  have  ever  seen  on  the  English  stage,  delicate  in  its  treat- 
ment, and  dainty  in  all  its  details.  It  is  an  enchanting  series 
of  pictures,  and  its  tenderness  and  simplicity  ought  to  come 
like  a  new  and  refreshing  draught  to  the  jaded  appetite  of  Lon- 
don playgoers.  You  achieve  every  thing  by  your  inimitable 
acting  as  the  loving  mother,  obedient  daughter,  and  outraged 
and  forsaken  woman. 


196  GENE VI EVE    WARD. 

And  these  letters  also  :  — 

DEAR  GINEVRA,  —  I  have  had  my  mind  full  of  the  play  and 
your  acting  ever  since.  I  am  enraged  with  the  critics  who  have 
done  it  so  little  justice  I  It  is  full  of  the  most  varied  interest 
and  charm,  and  all  so  softly  harmonized  in  the  end,  leaving  a 
final  impression  of  pleasure  and  content.  It  has  a  far  finer 
moral  and  mental  power  than  "  Forget  Me  Not,"  and  there  are 
many  fine  subtle  effects  in  your  acting  not  lost  on  me.  All 
your  movements  and  expressions  are  true  to  the  character. 
There  is  nothing  of  the  regal  Lucrezia  or  the  audacious  Ste- 
phanie ;  but  the  simple  peasant  grace,  a  grace  that  seems  all 
of  feeling,  not  of  art.  ...  It  is  a  powerful  study,  a  poem  and 
picture  in  one  ;  and  I  am  amazed  that  the  public  have  not  taken 
to  it  warmly.  Good  wishes,  best  wishes,  dear,  beautiful,  bril- 
liant Ginevra,  from  your  affectionate  friend, 

"SPERANZA"  (LADY  WILDE). 

KEATS  HOUSE,  CHELSEA. 

DEAR  Miss  WARD,  —  I  must  see  the  last  night  of  "  Annie 
Mie  1 "  Might  I  ask  for  the  same  box  mamma  and  I  had  ?  or, 
if  that  is  taken,  any  box  will  do.  I  should  like  to  be  there  to 
show  how  much  I  appreciate  your  noble  acting,  and  how  much 
I  admire  a  play  the  critics  have  so  misunderstood. 
Your  sincere  friend  and  admirer, 

OSCAR  WILDE. 

"  Annie  Mie  "  was  played  for  the  last  time  on  the 
night  of  Dec.  10 ;  and  the  day  after  Miss  Ward  sailed 
for  America,  and  on  her  arrival  immediately  issued  this 
notice  in  the  leading  journals  of  the  United  States  :  — 

TO   MANAGERS,   ACTORS,   AND  THE   PUBLIC. 

I  have  crossed  the  ocean  at  this  inclement  season  to  protect 
my  purchased  right  of  exclusive  production  of  "Forget  Me 
Not,"  against  the  deliberate  piracy  of  Lester  Wallack  and 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  197 

Theodore  Moss.  I  am  preparing  papers  for  an  injunction 
against  them,  and  shall  push  my  legal  redress  with  vigor. 
Meanwhile  I  beg  to  say  that  neither  *Mr.  Wallack  nor  Mr. 
Moss  has  any  right  to  "  Forget  Me  Not ; "  and,  further,  I  will 
enjoin  every  manager  and  actor  in  the  country  who  attempts  to 
play  my  piece.  I  have  this  day  concluded  to  play  the  piece  in 
all  the  large  cities,  beginning  in  the  city  of  New  York,  at  an 
early  date,  under  the  management  of  Col.  William  E.  Sinn. 

GENEVIEVE  WARD. 
DEC.  27,  1880. 

Messrs.  Wallack  and  Moss  received  tidings  of  Miss 
Ward's  departure  from  England,  and  made  haste  to 
present  "  Forget  Me  Not "  at  Wallack's  Theatre,  re- 
moving a  successful  play  in  order  to  accomplish  this 
feat.  Her  suit  for  an  injunction  was  pressed  with  skill 
and  vigor,  and  won ; '  and  she  immediately  made  a 
tour  with  "  Forget  Me  Not,"  of  the  chief  cities  of  the 
Union  and  the  Provinces,  beginning  with  the  city  of 
Boston. 

In  "The  New  York  Tribune"  for  Feb.  18,  1881, 
there  appeared  a  critical  review  of  her  acting,  which, 
aside  from  the  moral  deduction  drawn,  is  a  master- 
piece of  dramatic  criticism,  as  finished  as  the  perform- 
ance it  describes ;  and  as  it  expresses  so  admirably  the 
sum  of  intelligent  opinion  on  both  sides  of  the  water, 
on  this  consummate  performance,  it  is  given  entire  :  — 

BOSTON,  Feb.  16. 

Miss  Genevieve  Ward  lately  ended  her  engagement,  of  one 
week,  at  the  Globe  Theatre.  It  was  a  brilliantly  successful 
engagement,  and  might  advantageously  have  lasted  much 
longer.  Miss  Ward  acted  Stephanie  in  "Forget  Me  Not,"  — 

1  The  whole  story  is  exceedingly  well  told  in  Miss  Ward's  concise  and 
masterly  affidavit,  for  which  I  refer  the  reader  to  the  appendix. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD. 


the  ]>lay  that  was  the  subject  of  her  recent  law-suit  agai; 
Wallack.  She  first  appeared  here  on  the  yth  inst.,  giving  her 
first  performance  of  Stephanie  in  this  country;  and  she  was 
welcomed  by  a  numerous  and  brilliant  audience.  The  attend- 
ance on  the  second  night  was  still  larger,  and  each  night  through- 
out the  week  the  theatre  was  crowded.  Even  the  tempest  of 
the  1  2th  inst.  [the  rain  fell  here  in  torrents  that  day]  could  not 
keep  an  eager  multitude  away  from  the  theatre.  Neither  at 
the  matinee  nor  again  in  the  evening  was  it  possible  to  obtain 
a  seat  in  the  house  after  the  curtain  had  risen.  The  success 
c>f  Miss  Ward  is  beyond  question;  and  it  is  of  a  most  excep- 
tional character.  After  seeing  her  performance  of  Stephanie, 
no  one  can  feel  surprised  at  the  intrepid  and  determined  energy 
with  which  she  contested  Mr.  Wallack's  infringement  upon  her 
right  of  property  in  the  play  of  "Forget  Me  Not."  To  her  the 
opportunities  provided  by  the  character  arc  special,  peculiar, 
unique,  and  of  absolutely  vital  import.  No  dramatic  artist  was 
ever  better  fitted  by  a  part  than  Miss  Ward  is  fitted  by  Stepha- 
nie ;  and  no  other  actress  on  the  stage  of  to-day  could  act  it  as 
well  as  she  does.  Those  who  saw  "  Forget  Me  Not  "  at  Wai- 
lack's  Theatre  would  scarcely  know  it  for  the  same  piece,  on 
seeing  Miss  Ward  as  its  heroine.  The  skill  and  the  charm  of 
Miss  Rose  Coghlan  are  not,  indeed,  forgotten,  and  of  course 
they  are  not  undervalued;  but,  as  Cardinal  Wolsey  remarks, 
"  there's  more  in't  than  fair  visage."  Miss  Coghlan's  perform- 
ance of  Stephanie  was  charming  for  its  piquancy  and  for  its 
volatile,  sensuous,  mischievous  vitality.  Miss  Ward's  perform- 
ance is  brilliant  with  intellectual  character,  beautiful  with 
refinement,  nervous  and  steel-like  with  indomitable  purpose, 
fearfully  intense  with  passion,  painfully  true  to  an  afflicting 
ideal  of  reality,  and  at  last  splendidly  tragic.  And  it  is  a  shin- 
ing example  of  ductile  and  various  art.  Such  a  work  easily 
takes  its  rank  among  the  great  achievements  of  the  contempo- 
rary stage. 

It  is  not  meant,  in  thus  defining  the  nature  of  Miss  Ward's 
success,  to  intimate  that  Miss  Ward  is  destitute  in  actual  life  of 
those  qualities  —  fair,  lovable,  and  sweet  —  of  which  Stephanie 


GENE VI EVE    WARD..  199 

is  destitute  in  the  play.  It  is  simply  meant  that  Miss  Ward 
possesses  in  copious  abundance  certain  peculiar  qualities  of 
power  and  beauty,  upon  which  mainly  the  part  of  Stephanie  is 
reared.  The  points  of  assimilation  between  the  actress  and 
the  part  consist  in  an  imperial  force  of  character,  intellectual 
brilliancy,  audacity  of  mind,  iron  will,  perfect  elegance  of  man- 
ners, a  profound  self-knowledge,  and  unerring  intuitions  as  to 
the  relations  of  motive  and  conduct  in  that  vast  net-work  of 
circumstance  which  is  the  social  fabric.  Stephanie  possesses 
all  these  attributes ;  and  all  these  Miss  Ward  supplies,  with 
the  luxuriant  adequacy  and  grace  of  nature.  But  Stephanie 
superadds  to  these  a  bitter,  mocking  cynicism,  thinly  veiled  by 
artificial  suavity,  and  logically  irradiant  from  natural  hardness 
of  heart,  coupled  with  an  insensibility  to  gentleness  that  has 
been  engendered  by  a  cruel  experience  of  human  selfishness. 
This,  with  a  certain  mystical  touch  of  the  animal  freedom, 
whether  in  joy  or  wrath,  which  goes  with  a  being  having  neither 
soul  nor  conscience,  the  actress  has  to  supply  —  and  does  sup- 
ply —  by  her  art.  As  interpreted  by  Miss  Ward,  the  character 
is  reared,  not  upon  a  basis  of  unchastity,  but  upon  a  basis  of 
intellectual  perversion.  This  Stephanie  has  followed  —  at  first 
with  self-contempt,  afterward  with  sullen  indifference,  finally 
with  the  bold  and  brilliant  hardihood  of  reckless  defiance  —  a 
life  of  crime.  She  is  audacious,  unscrupulous,  cruel ;  a  con- 
summate tactician ;  almost  sexless  in  fact,  yet  a  siren  in  knowl- 
edge and  capacity  to  use  the  arts  of  her  sex ;  capable  of  any 
wickedness  to  accomplish  an  end,  yet  trivial  enough  to  have  no 
_ greater  end  in  view  than  the  re-investiture  of  herself  with  social 
recognition ;  cold  as  snow ;  implacable  as  the  grave ;  remorse- 
less ;  wicked ;  but,  beneath  all  this  depravity,  capable  at  least 
of  self-pity,  capable  of  momentary  regret,  capable  of  a  little  bit 
of  human  tenderness,  aware  of  the  glory  of  the  innocence  she 
has  lost,  and  thus  not  altogether  beyond  the  pale  of  compas- 
sion. And  she  is,  in  externals,  —  in  every  thing  visible  and 
audible, —  the  very  ideal  of  grace  and  melody. 

In  the  presence  of  an  admirable  work  of  art,  the  observer, 
of  course,  wishes  that  it  were  entirely  worthy  of  being  per- 


2OO  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

formed,  and    that  it  were   entirely  clear  and  sound  as  to  its 
applicability  —  in  a  moral  sense,  or  even  in  an  intellectual  sense 

—  to  human  life.     Art  does  not  go  very  far,  when  it  stops  short 
merely  at  the  revelation  of  the  felicitous  powers  of  the  artist; 
and  it  is  not  altogether  right,  when  it  tends  to  beguile  sympathy 
for  an  unworthy  object,  and  perplex  a  spectator's  perceptions 
as  to  good  and  evil.     Miss  Ward's  performance  of  Stephanie, 
brilliant  though  it  be,  does  not  redeem  the  character  from  its 
bleak  exile  from  human  sympathy.    The  actress,  to  be  sure, 
has  managed,  by  a  scheme  of  treatment  which  is  exclusively 
her  own,  to  make  Stephanie,  for  two  or  three  moments,  piteous 
and  forlorn ;  and  her  expression  of  this  evanescent  anguish  — 
occurring  in  the  appeal  to  Sir  Horace  Welby,  her  friendly  foe, 
in  the  great  scene  of  the  second  act  —  is  wonderfully  subtle. 
That  appeal,  as  Miss  Ward  makes  it,  is  begun  in  artifice,  is 
allowed  to  become  profoundly  sincere,  is  stunned  and  startled 
into  a   recoil  of   resentment  by  a  harsh  rebuff,  and  subsides 
through  hysterical  levity  into  frigid  and  brittle  sarcasm  and  gay 
defiance.     For  a  while,  accordingly,  the  feelings  of  the  observer 
are  deeply  moved.     Yet  this  does  not  make  the  character  of 
Stephanie  any  the  less  detestable.     The  blight  remains  upon  it, 

—  and  always  must  remain,  —  that  it  repels  the  interest  of  the 
heart.     The  added  blight  likewise  rests  upon  it  (though  this 
is  of  far  less  consequence  to  the  spectator),  that  it  is  burdened 
with  moral  sophistry.     Vicious  conduct  in  a  woman,  according 
to  Stephanie's  logic,  is  no  way  more  culpable  or  disastrous  than 
vicious  conduct  in  a  man;  the  woman,  equally  with  the  man, 
should  have  a  social  license  to  sow  the  juvenile  wild  oats,  and 
effect  the  middle-aged  reformation ;  and  it  is  only  because  there 
are  gay  young  men  who  indulge  in  profligacy,  that  women  some- 
times  become   adventurers   and  moral   monsters.     All  this  is 
launched  forth  in  speeches  of  singular  terseness,  eloquence,  and 
vigor;  but  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  point  out  that  all  this  is 
specious  and  mischievous  perversion   of   the  truth  —  however 
admirably  in  character  from  Stephanie's  lips.     Every  observer 
who  has  looked  carefully  upon  the  world  is  aware  that  the  con- 
sequences of  wrong-doing  by  a  woman  are  vastly  more  perm- 


GENE VI EVE    WARD.  2OI 

cious  than  those  of  wrong-doing  by  a  man ;  that  society  could 
not  exist  in  decency,  if  to  its  already  inconvenient  coterie  of 
reformed  rakes  it  were  to  add  a  legion  of  reformed  wantons ; 
and  that  it  is  innate  wickedness  and  evil  propensity  that  make 
such  women  as  Stephanie,  and  not  the  mere  existence  of  the 
wild  young  men  who  are  willing  to  become  their  comrades,  and 
generally  end  by  being  their  dupes  and  victims.  It  is  natural, 
however,  that  this  adventurer  —  who  has  kept  a  gambling-hell, 
and  ruined  many  a  man,  soul  and  body,  and  now  wishes  to  re- 
instate herself  in  a  virtuous  social  position  —  should  thus  strive 
to  palliate  her  past  proceedings.  Self-justification  is  one  of  the 
first  laws  of  life.  Even  lago,  who  never  deceives  himself,  yet 
announces  one  adequate  motive  for  his  fearful  crimes.  Even 
Bulwer's  Margrave  —  that  prodigy  of  evil  and  great  type  of 
infernal,  joyous,  animal  depravity  —  can  yet  paint  himself  in 
the  light  of  harmless  loveliness  and  innocent  gayety. 

It  is  but  a  little  while  since  "  Forget  Me  Not "  was  seen  in 
New  York,  and  readers  and  playgoers  are  familiar  with  its 
story.  It  is  a  thin  story ;  but,  in  the  handling,  it  has  been  made 
to  yield  some  excellent  dramatic  pictures,  some  splendid  mo- 
ments of  intellectual  combat,  and  some  affecting  contrasts  of 
character.  The  dialogue,  particularly  in  the  second  act,  is  as 
strong  and  as  brilliant  as  polished  steel.  Here,  in  this  combat 
of  words,  Miss  Ward's  acting  is  marvellous  for  trenchant  skill 
and  fascinating  variety.  The  easy,  good-natured,  bantering  air 
with  which  the  strife  begins,  the  liquid  purity  of  the  tones,  the 
delicate  glow  of  the  arch  satire,  the  icy  glitter  of  the  thought 
and  purpose  beneath  the  words,  the  transition  into  pathos  and 
back  again  into  gay  indifference  and  deadly  hostility,  the  sud- 
den and  terrible  mood  of  menace,  when  at  length  the  crisis  has 
passed  and  the  evil  ge.iiiis  has  won  its  temporary  victory,  —  all 
these  were  in  perfect  taste  and  consummate  harmony.  Seeing 
this  brilliant,  supple,  relentless,  formidable  figure,  and  hearing 
this  incisive,  bell-like  voice,  the  spectator  is  repelled  and  at- 
tracted at  the  same  instant,  and  thoroughly  bewildered  with 
the  sense  of  a  power  and  beauty  as  hateful  as  they  are  glorious. 
Not  since  Ristori  acted  Lucrezia  Borgia  in  this  country  has  our 


202  GENEVIEVE    WARD, 

stage  exhibited  such  an  image  of  imperial  will,  made  radiant 
with  beauty  and  electric  with  flashes  of  passion.  The  leopard 
and  the  serpent  are  fatal,  terrible,  and  loathsome ;  yet  they 
scarcely  have  a  peer  among  nature's  supreme  symbols  of  power 
and  of  grace. 

Into  the  last  scene  of  "  Forget  Me  Not,"  —  where,  at  length, 
Stephanie  is  crushed  by  physical  fear,  through  beholding, 
unseen  by  him,  the  man  who  would  kill  her  as  one  kills  a 
malignant  and  dangerous  reptile,  —  Miss  Ward  has  introduced 
certain  illustrative  "  business "  not  provided  by  the  piece,  but 
such  as  greatly  enhances  its  final  effect.  The  backward  rush 
from  the  door,  on  seeing  the  Corsican  avenger  on  the  stair- 
case, with  the  incident  yell  of  terror,  is  the  invention  of  the 
actress ;  and  from  this  moment  to  the  final  exit  she  is  the  very 
incarnation  —  thrilling  and  even  agonizing  —  of  abject  fear. 
The  situation  is  one  of  the  strongest  that  dramatic  ingenuity 
has  invented;  and  Miss  Ward  invests  it  with  a  coloring  of  truth 
that  is  pathetic  and  awful.  Wherever  this  piece  of  acting  is 
seen,  accordingly,  the  lovers  of  true  art  will  have  an  enjoyment 
such  as  is  seldom  vouchsafed  upon  the  stage. 

An  eminent  London  physician,  whose  writings  are 
much  admired  for  their  deep  thought,  powerful  logic 
and  humanity,  wrote  to  Mrs.  Ward  the  following  pleas- 
ant letter :  — 

LONDON,  March  10, 1881. 

DEAR  MRS.  WARD,  —  I  have  to  thank  you  much  for  letting 
me  see  the  criticism  on  Genevieve  Ward  and  "  Forget  Me 
Not,"  in  "  The  New  York  Tribune."  It  is  indeed  a  remarkable 
article ;  and  if  "  Forget  Me  Not "  were  published  it  might 
preface  it  as  Schlegel  and  Coleridge  combined  preface  Shake- 
speare. There  is  spiritual  clairvoyance  in  its  perception  of  Miss 
Ward's  intellectual  personation,  and  a  now  rare  knowledge  of 
the  rights  of  good  and  evil,  in  both  the  personation  and  the 
drama  itself.  It  is  seldom  that  one  meets  in  criticism  with 


CENEVIEVE    WARD.  203 

such  a  satisfactory  wholesome  wholeness.  To  you  it  must  give 
the  gratification  of  something  like  a  final  certificate  of  your 
gifted  Genevieve's  powers.  And  I  am  grateful  to  the  writer  for 
also,  in  his  ardent  admiration,  being  so  far  master  of  his  reason 
as  to  be  able  to  declare  that  human  good  is  the  last  attainment 
of  the  drama  in  both  its  parts. 

Your  old  doctor, 

GARTH  WILKINSON. 

Miss  Ward  appeared  in  New  York  in  March ;  and  a 
friend  wrote  to  her  :  — 

"  The  sure  prospect  of  the  triumphant  settlement  of  the 
Moss-Wallack  suit  in  your  favor  gives  me  unfeigned  pleasure, 
since  you  are  unquestionably  in  the  right,  morally  and  legally. 
.  .  .  Stephanie,  as  you  create  her,  is  a  pathetic,  thrilling  lesson 
and  example  in  social  ethics ;  and  so,  strikes  deep  into  the 
sympathies,  and  teaches  moral  and  social  wisdom  in  a  new  and 
original  manner." 

"  It  is  very  easy  to  see,"  wrote  Mrs.  Anne  L.  Botta, 
"  how  much  the  play  owes  to  you,  and  what  it  would 
be  in  inferior  hands." 

Mrs.  George  Vandenhoff  wrote  :  — 

"  I  thank  you  with'  my  whole  soul !  Your  wonderful  Ste- 
phanie will  remain  engraven  on  my  memory  while  I  have  a 
memory.  You  turned  for  me  a  chapter  in  the  history  of  a 
woman's  heart  which  I  had  never  read  before.  Was  it  an  in- 
spiration that  named  the  play  '  Forget  Me  Not '  ?  Surely  to  all 
and  every  woman  who  shall  see  you  in  that  character,  you  will 
remain  a  never-to-be-forgotten  revelation!  It  was  not  acting: 
it  was  living,  being,  doing,  suffering,  and  agonizing  1  She  was 
bad  —  wicked  —  lost  1  But  your  genius  so  elevated  and  re- 
deemed her,  that  my  feeling  about  her  is  one  of  regret,  of  sor- 
row that  the  chance  she  so  longed  for  and  prayed  for  was 
denied  to  her.  .  .  .  The  mingled  pathos  and  scorn  with  which 


204  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

you  appealed  to  this  man  I  the  wonderful  recovery  of  your 
bravado  and  insolent  nonchalance,  the  grandeur  of  your  defiant 
and  just  accusations,  and  then  at  last  your  abject  fear  —  it 
makes  me  shudder  even  now  !  I  have  always  admired  you  as 
woman  and  artist,  but  in  this  new  creation  you  rise  above  my 
feeble  praise." 

DEAR  Miss  WARD,  —  I  am  compelled  by  sheer  admiration 
of  your  wondrous  creative  power  to  say  that  "  Forget  Me  Not " 
took  us  all  by  storm.  The  play  is  not  well  constructed,  but 
you  have  made  it  full  of  points,  creating  a  character  at  once 
true  and  striking ;  and  I  am  more  than  ever  your  friend  and 
admirer, 

R.  SHELTON  MACKENZIE. 

And  this  from  the  clever  editor  of  "  Harper's 
Bazar : "  — 

MARCH  26,  1881. 

DEAR  Miss  WARD,  —  I  think  you  will  like  to  hear  what  was 
said  of  you  last  night  by  Mr.  Salvador  de  Mendoza,  consul-gen- 
eral of  Brazil,  whom  we  met  with  his  wife  on  our  way  home, 
after  leaving  you.  He  declared  that  he  could  not  understand 
why  the  Americans  made  such  a  fuss  about  Sara  Bernhardt, 
when  they  had  so  much  greater  an  artist  among  them  in  their 
own  countrywoman,  Miss  Ward.  The  Mendozas  had  stopped 
to  talk  with  Madame  Gerster,  who  expressed  herself  delighted 
with  your  powerful  impersonation ;  and  they  say  she  is  not  easily 
pleased.  These  things  were  so  pleasant  for  me  to  hear,  coin- 
ciding so  fully  with  my  own  opinion,  that  I  feel  like  telling  you 
of  them,  though  I  doubt  not  they  are  only  echoes  of  what  you 
hear  continually.  I  was  charmed,  indeed,  with  such  a  subtle 
and  lofty  conception  of  such  a  complex  character  as  Stephanie ; 
and  your  countrywomen  may  well  be  proud  of  your  success. 
Affectionately  your  friend, 

MARY  L.  BOOTH. 

In  June  of  this  present  year,  1881,  Miss  Ward  re- 


GENE VI EVE    WARD.  2O5 

turned  to  London,  and  devoted  herself  to  her  friends, 
and  to  her  beloved  occupation  of  modelling,  at  which, 
as  well  as  in  painting,  she  is  very  skilful. 

In  his  article  on  the  Dramatic  Fine-Art  Gallery,  Mr. 
Forbes  Robertson  said,  — 

"  Here  also  is  a  vigorously  treated  miniature  bust  of  the  late 
Col.  Ward,  executed  from  memory  by  Miss  Genevieve  Ward, 
the  greatest  of  our  living  tragic  actresses.  She  has  been  blessed 
with  a  wonderful  diversity  of  gifts,  —  a  linguist,  a  musician,  an 
actress  in  the  very  highest  sense  of  the  term,  and,  if  we  may 
judge  by  the  bust  before  us  and  by  the  pictures  she  has  sent 
to  the  exhibition,  it  is  manifest  she  would  have  been  supreme 
in  these  walks  also  had  she  turned  her  attention  to  them.  Her 
'  Sheep,  after  Verboeckhoven '  (34)  would  make  even  an  expert 
hesitate  to  say  that  they  were  not  from  the  pencil  of  the  Flemish 
master  himself.  Whence  this  lady  inherited  her  gift  of  the 
pencil,  is  made  abundantly  manifest  by  the  exquisite  miniature 
(112)  which  her  mother  painted  of  her  when  a  child.  Sir  Wil- 
liam Ross  himself  might  have  stippled  this  portrait." 

"Who  taught  you  to  model? "  I  asked  her  one  day 
this  summer,  as  she  sat  working  with  light  and  sure 
touch  on  the  bust  of  her  friend  Col.  Sanford. 

"No  one  taught  me,"  she  replied:  "it  'growed' 
like  Topsy ;  but  I  ask  the  best  critics  to  sit  in  judg- 
ment on  my  work." 

But  acting,  painting,  modelling,  and  talking  all 
tongues,  do  not  complete  the  list  of  Miss  Ward's 
accomplishments.  She  can  write.  M.  Regnier  says 
that  her  letters  would  make  a  second  edition  of 
"  Madame  de  Se"vigne ;  "  and  her  "  Cotelettes  a  la 
Pojarsky,"  published  in  "The  Theatre"  for  March, 
1 88 1,  is  a  perfect  literary  ragotit  of  Russian  gastro- 
nomic novelties. 


206  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

Her  personal  friends  are  the  noblest  and  cleverest 
men  and  women  of  the  time ;  and  I  have  read  and 
heard  abundant  and  glowing  testimony  to  her  personal 
qualities  from  those  of  her  own  profession,  not  a  jeal- 
ous note  of  discord  anywhere.  Madame  Colmache, 
critic  of  "The  Court  Journal,"  and  author  of  "The 
Life  of  Talleyrand,"  is  one  of  the  most  venerable  of 
her  friends,  a  lady  who  looks  like  an  empress  in  her 
own  right,  needing  no  crown  but  her  own  soft  white 
tresses,  and  no  jewels  but  the  lustre  of  her  serene  and 
loving  eyes. 

Another  of  her  friends,  Miss  Elizabeth  Philp,  the 
eminent  balladist,  who  wrote  the  music  of  "  Gene- 
vieve,"  which  appears  early  in  this  volume,  and  is  also 
the  original  of  the  "  English  Amazon"  figuring  in  Mr. 
Sala's  brilliant  book  on  the  late  American  Rebellion, 
is  an  English  lady'  of  most  charming  character,  whose 
acquaintance  is  a  never-failing  source  of  delight  to  all 
who  meet  her.  Annie  Thomas  describes  her  :  — 

"  A  distinguished  ornament  of  the  musical  world,  and  one  of 
the  most  perfect  hostesses  in  society,  who  has  risen  to  a  high 
place  among  our  female  composers,  and  has  made  her  mark  by 
her  own  unassisted  efforts.  Thoroughly  impregnated  with  the 
real  artist  spirit,  she  has  set  herself  resolutely  to  conquer  every 
difficulty  that  arises  in  the  artist's  path,  in  the  most  honorable 
and  legitimate  manner.  Clever,  painstaking,  persevering,  and 
sensitive  to  an  extraordinary  degree,  she  is  her  own  most  severe 
critic ;  while  her  prompt  recognition  of  talent  and  thoroughness 
in  others,  and  her  hearty  appreciation  of  whatever  is  worthy  in 
her  compeers,  render  her  opinion  of  their  achievements  as  valu- 
able as  it  is  sought  after." 

The  critic  of  an  authoritative  London  journal  says,  — 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  2O? 

"Her  music  is  always  melodious,  intelligent,  and  unforced. 
She  selects  a  poem  with  taste,  and  interprets  it  with  respect. 
A  poem  in  her  hands  remains  a  poem,  and  does  not  become  a 
mere  peg  on  which  to  hang  a  melody.  This  is  true  art,  and 
real  feeling,  and  is  a  quality  as  invaluable  to  the  balladist  as  it 
is  unfortunately  rare.  From  the  long  list  of  a  hundred  songs 
which  she  has  composed,  it  is  difficult  to  select  a  few  for  special 
mention,  when  all  or  nearly  all  of  them  are  of  exceptional  merit. 
For  pathos,  '  Airlie  Beacon,'  '  Marguerite's  Letter,'  the  grand 
4  Story  of  a  Year,'  and  '  Younger  Years,'  may  be  fairly  quoted  ; 
in  passionate  feeling  '  The  Poacher's  Widow '  stands  unrivalled 
among  modern  English  ballads ;  and  '  Lillie's  Good-Night '  finds 
an  echo  in  the  heart  of  every  mother  who  hears  it.  In  addition 
to  her  great  musical  gifts,  Miss  Philp  is  a  profound  thinker,  a 
careful  reader,  and  a  brilliant  conversationalist.  She  has  the 
art,  so  rare  among  women,  of  telling  a  story  well,  and  of  coming 
up  to  her  point  in  a  way  that  compels  her  most  obtuse  auditor  to 
see  it.  Her  house  in  London  is  the  popular  head-centre  where 
musical,  dramatic,  literary,  and  artistic  people  (most  of  them 
celebrities)  delight  in  meeting  on  those  well-known  Thursday 
afternoons  which  she  commenced  some  twenty  years  ago,  and 
has  kept  going  with  signal  success  ever  since." 

Which  is  all  perfectly  true;  for  I  have  heard  her 
sing  some  of  her  own  delightful  songs,  —  one  particu- 
larly fine  in  interpretation  of  Mr.  Lowell's  "  Moon- 
light deep  and  tender,"  —  and  I  have  eaten  "  chick- 
ing "  at  her  house,  and  found  it  "  ospitally  "  ! 

As  I  draw  this  sketch  to  a  close,  the  great  tragedi- 
enne is  sailing  toward  her  native  land,  wearing  near 
her  heart  the  one  amulet  that  never  leaves  her  when 
she  enters  into  her  ideal  life  of  art,  —  the  silver  lock 
of  the  great  Siddons  linked  with  the  dark  tress  severed 
by  Ristori  from  her  own  classic  temples  for  a  token  of 
love,  companionship,  and  God-speed  to  the  gifted 


208  GENEVIEVF.    WARD. 

American  woman  she  so  nobly  and  generously  loves. 
With  her  go  the  clever  artists,  and  firm  personal  friends, 
who  will  share  with  her  in  the  labor  and  honors  of  the 
dramatic  representations  which  many  of  my  readers 
will  be  enjoying  when  these  leaves  are  fresh  from  the 
press ;  and  with  her  goes  also  the  warm  good-will  of 
hosts  of  friends,  and  the  blessing  of  the  invalid  brother 
and  venerable  mother  who  remain  behind  waiting, 
with  how  much  love  and  faith  and  justified  pride,  to 
catch  the  echoes  of  the  new  plaudit  from  across  the  sea. 

A  beautiful  light  is  thrown  on  the  private  character 
of  Miss  Ward,  in  a  little  incident  made  known  to  me 
since  her  departure  for  America.  A  dear  friend  asked 
Mrs.  Ward  how  soon  they  could  hope  to  hear  from 
her  daughter. 

"  I  have  had  a  letter  from  her  every  day  since  she 
sailed  ! "  was  the  reply. 

Miss  Ward  had  written  beforehand  letters  for  each 
day  of  her  journey,  marked  them  all  "  per  Sea-Gull 
express,"  and  left  them  with  a  friend  in  Liverpool,  to 
be  posted  to  her  mother  daily,  according  to  their 
dates.  In  these  letters  Miss  Ward's  imaginary  de- 
scriptions of  the  daily  occurrences  at  sea,  not  omitting 
to  mention  the  latitude  and  longitude  they  were  in, 
and  the  progress  made,  were  delightful  for  originality 
and  humor ;  and  the  whole  act  was  one  of  the  most 
graceful  filial  tenderness. 


APPENDIX. 


Superior  Court  0!  tfjc  Citg  of  ISTefa  fforfe. 

GENEVIEVE   WARD, 

Plaintiff', 
against 

THEODORE   MOSS   AND   LESTER   WALLACK, 

Defendants. 
CITY  AND  COUNTY  OF  NEW  YORK,  ss.: 

GENEVIEVE  WARD,  being  duly  sworn,  says  :  I  am  the 
plaintiff.  I  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  am 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States  of  America.  I  am  an 
actress,  and  am  dependent  upon  the  practice  of  my  pro- 
fession for  a  livelihood.  My  attention  was  first  drawn  to 
the  play  of  "  Forget-Me-Not "  by  one  of  the  authors 
thereof,  Mr.  Herman  Merivale.  Messrs.  Merivale  and 
Grove  were  the  authors  of  the  said  play.  Mr.  Merivale 
requested  me  to  read  it,  and  I  did  so.  I  was  greatly 
impressed  with  the  dramatic  power  of  the  play  upon  my 
reading  thereof ;  and  I  thought  I  saw  that  the  principal 
character,  Stephanie,  Marquise  de  Mohrivart,  was  ex- 
actly suited  to  my  professional  capacities.  Not  willing 
to  trust  to  my  own  judgment,  I  submitted  the  play  to  my 
good  friend  Bram  Stoker,  then  and  now  the  acting  man- 

209 


210  GENE VI EVE    WARD. 

ager  of  Henry  Irving,  Esq.,  at  the  Lyceum  Theatre,  Lon- 
don. Mr.  Stoker  confirmed  my  impression  of  the  play, 
and  of  my  adaptability  for  the  principal  part  thereof.  I 
was  in  August,  1879,  and  am  still,  known  in  London  as 
an  American  actress.  Mr.  Stoker  advised  me  to  secure 
the  play.  I  accordingly  sent  for  Mr.  Merivale;  and  he 
came  to  the  Lyceum  Theatre,  Aug.  12,  1879,  and  we 
talked  over  the  terms  of  the  purchase  of  the  play.  I 
was  informed  by  him  that  he  had  never  sold  the  play  to 
anybody,  and  that  he  and  Mr.  Grove  were  the  authors 
thereof,  and  that  they  only  had  one  hundred  copies  of 
the  play  printed ;  that  they  had  never  published  the 
play,  nor  sold,  nor  authorized  to  be  sold,  any  copies 
thereof,  and  that  said  play  had  been  printed  exclusively 
for  private  circulation.  I  told  said  Merivale  that  I  was 
about  arranging  for  an  American  tour,  and  that  I  desired 
to  get  a  good  play  for  the  United  States.  It  was  dis- 
tinctly understood  by  all  parties  that  I  was  buying  the 
piece  for  representation  at  any  place  on  the  inhabitable 
globe.  We  especially  spoke  of  the  United  States ;  and 
Mr.  Merivale  never,  prior  to  the  signing  of  the  contract 
hereinafter  mentioned,  by  word  or  action,  led  me  to  infer 
that  aught  else  was  contemplated.  Mr.  Merivale  wanted 
some  limitation  as  to  the  number  of  times  that  I  should 
play  the  piece  within  a  given  time.  I  told  him  I  did  not 
think  it  necessary,  as  I  intended  to  produce  the  play  in 
London,  in  the  Provinces,  and  in  the  United  States,  and 
that  I  had  no  doubt  that  I  should  pay  him  the  whole  of 
the  consideration  money  within  one  year  from  the  date 
of  the  production  of  the  piece  in  London.  There  were 
present  at  the  time  of  this  conversation,  besides  .Mr. 
Merivale  and  myself,  my  brother  Albert  Lee  Ward,  and 
Mr.  Stoker.  Nothing,  it  seems  to  me,  could  have  been 
better  understood  than  that  I  was  negotiating  for  the 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  211 

purchase  of  the  right  of  the  exclusive  production  of  the 
play  everywhere,  and  that  said  authors  were  to  sell  me 
such  exclusive  right  of  production  everywhere,  and  cer- 
tainly most  especially  for  the  United  States,  as  I  had 
positively  stated  I  was  especially  desirous  of  getting  a 
successful  play  for  America.  At  that  interview  the  terms 
«vere  fully  settled ;  and  it  was  verbally  agreed  that  I  was 
to  have  the  exclusive  right  to  produce  the  play  for  a 
period  of  five  years,  for  the  sum  of  three  pounds  for 
ever)'  time  it  was  produced  by  me  in  London,  and  two 
pounds  for  every  occasion  during  said  period  in  which 
the  play  was  produced  by  me  elsewhere.  As  soon,  how- 
ever, as  I  had  paid  the  sum  of  three  hundred  pounds,  I 
was  then  to  have  the  exclusive  right  of  production  of 
said  play  anywhere  during  said  five  years  without  further 
payment.  I  was  also  to  have  a  right  to  a  further  period 
of  five  years  upon  the  same  terms,  providing  I  gave  three 
months  written  notice  of  such  being  my  wish. 

The  terms  being  agreed  upon,  I  arranged  with  Mr. 
Merivale  that  he  should  come  to  the  theatre,  and  read 
the  play  to  my  company.  He  came  on  the  thirteenth 
day  of  August,  1879,  and  read  the  play  to  the  members 
of  the. company.  All  were  delighted  with  it.  I  at  once 
assigned  the  different  characters,  and  put  the  piece  in 
rehearsal.  Mr.  Merivale  gave  me  three  printed  copies 
of  the  play.  He  said  he  could  not  give  me  any  more,  as 
he  had  none.  Upon  the  title-page  of  the  play  were  the 
words,  "  Printed  for  private  circulation."  I  was  advised 
then,  and  am  now,  that  an  author  had,  and  has,  a  right  to 
print  a  limited  number  of  copies  of  his  play  for  his  own 
and  friends'  use,  without  thereby  dedicating  it  to  the  pub- 
lic. I  agreed  to  make  the  large  payment  of  three  hundred 
pounds  for  the  piece  in  that  belief,  and  the  authors  took 
my  money  in  the  like  belief.  I  found  my  original  im- 


212  GENE VI EVE    WARD. 

pression  of  the  play  intensified  by  the  rehearsal  thereof. 
It  had  been  agreed  between  Mr.  Merivale  and  myself, 
that  I  should  have  my  solicitor  prepare  a  written  agree- 
ment embodying  the  above  understanding  between  the 
authors  and  myself.  I  desired  my  said  brother  to  so 
instruct  Mr.  Coe,  whose  affidavit  is  hereunto  annexed. 
Mr.  Coe  prepared  the  agreement;  but  what  with  rehears- 
ing, and  one  thing  and  another,  I  could  not  get  the 
authors  together  to  sign  it  until  about  five  o'clock  P.M. 
of  the  twenty-first  day  of  August,  1879.  They  then  went 
very  carefully  over  the  contract  so  prepared  by  Mr.  Coe, 
in  the  presence  of  my  brother  and  Mr.  Stoker.  The 
authors  made  many  suggestions,  and  desired  a  very 
material  amendment  thereof.  I  had  agreed  to  purchase, 
and  they  had  agreed  to  sell  to  me,  the  exclusive  right, 
without  restriction,  to  produce  the  play  anywhere.  This, 
I  am  advised,  would  have  given  me  the  right  to  sell  to 
others  the  said  right  of  production.  The  authors  de- 
sired to  change  this  so  as  to  limit  my  right  of  sale,  and 
compel  the  performance  by  myself.  As  the  piece  was  to 
be  played  that  night,  I  consented  to  that  important  altera- 
tion from  our  understanding.  The  contract  was  then 
signed  by  the  authors  in  the  presence  of  my  brother  and 
the  said  Stoker.  Hereunto  annexed,  marked  "Exhibit 
A,"  is  a  copy  of  the  contract  as  finally  concluded  and 
signed  between  us.  I  have  never  heard  of  the  authors 
disputing  this  contract.  I  have  understood  that  they 
now  affect  to  interpret  it  differently  from  its  plain  mean- 
ing, and  from  the  usual  import  attached  to  the  language 
employed  in  the  contract.  Indeed,  the  authors  have, 
since  the  execution  of  the  contract,  fully  satisfied  and 
confirmed  the  same  in  all  its  features  by  bringing  an 
action  thereon  in  a  court  of  England,  before  Lord  Cole- 
ridge. His  lordship,  Sept.  29,  1880,  denied  the  authors' 


GENEVIEVE    WARD. 


motion,  with  costs.  Hereunto  annexed,  marked  "  Ex- 
hibit B,"  is  a  report  of  the  case  as  it  appeared  in  "The 
Daily  Telegraph,"  a  newspaper  printed  in  the  city  of 
London,  Eng.,  on  the  thirtieth  day  of  September,  1880. 

The  play,  from  the  night  of  its  first  production,  on  the 
said  twenty-first  day  of  August,  1879,  was  a  great  suc- 
cess. The  papers,  with  one  accord,  spoke  very  highly  of 
it;  and  the  London  managers  all  believed  in  its  being 
destined  to  a  long  and  prosperous  career.  Prior  to  its 
first  production,  Mr.  Merivale  had  induced  me  to  permit 
a  sister-in-law  of  his  to  appear  in  the  part  of  Rose  de 
Brissac.  Notwithstanding  I  had  a  lady  of  my  company 
well  suited  to  play  the  part,  I  yielded  to  his  request,  the 
more  so  as  I  desired  to  remain  upon  good  terms  with 
Mr.  Merivale.  Unhappily  the  young  lady  proved  herself 
inadequate  to  play  the  part.  I  called  Mr.  Merivale's 
particular  attention  to  the  shortcoming;  and  he  begged 
me  to  retain  her,  and  that  he  would  coach  her  so  as  to 
play  the  part  acceptably.  She  showing  no  improvement, 
for  managerial  reasons  I  was  compelled  to  substitute  a 
daughter  of  Grace  Greenwood  in  her  place.  By  this 
necessary  act,  I  incurred  the  malignant  hatred  of  Mr. 
Merivale.  So  bitter  was  his  resentment  that  he  pub- 
lished cruel  lies  of  me,  and  sent  defamatory  circulars 
wherever  he  thought  he  could  do  me  harm.  He  has 
publicly  threatened  I  should  never  play  the  piece  in 
America.  Regarding  him  as  an  unaccountable  being, 
after  advising  with  my  friends,  I  have  taken  no  notice  of 
him,  but  have  clone  all  in  my  power  to  make  his  play  a 
success.  I  trust  I  do  not  offend  good  taste  when  I  add 
that  the  unhappy  man,  Mr.  Merivale,  was  for  several 
years  in  an  asylum  of  restraint,  where  he  had  been  placed 
by  his  own  mother  for  an  assault  upon  her.  This  is  a  fact 
of  open,  common  notoriety  in  England  ;  and  I  refer  to  it 


214  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

principally  because  the  defendant  Moss  claims  to  have 
had  a  verbal  arrangement  with  .Mr.  Merivale  about  the 
play.  At  that  time  I  verily  believe  he  was  in  an  insane- 
asylum.  The  instantaneous  success  of  the  play,  and  the 
difference  above  mentioned  with  Mr.  Merivale,  led  the 
authors  to  refuse  to  receive  the  first  payment  of  compen- 
sation due  under  the  contract.  They  continued  to  refuse 
for  several  weeks.  They  sought  to  have  me  break  the 
said  contract ;  but  I  was  careful  to  fully  keep  its  terms, 
and  I  made  all  necessary  tender  of  the  amounts  legally 
due  thereunder.  I  finally,  and  on  the  eighth  day  of 
April,  1880,  paid  to  and  the  said  authors  received  from 
me  the  full  balance  of  the  said  three  hundred  pounds 
mentioned  in  the  said  contract ;  and  I  now  allege  I  am 
the  sole  owner  of  the  right  to  produce  said  play  for  my 
exclusive  performance  for  the  period  of  five  years  from 
the  twenty-first  day  of  August,  1879,  without  further 
payment. 

I  solemnly  aver,  that,  at  no  time  during  the  negotiations 
between  the  authors  and  myself,  did  I  ever  hear  the  said 
authors  say,  suggest,  or  intimate  that  they  had,  at  any 
time  prior  thereto,  made  any  sale  of  said  play  to  any 
person  whomsoever,  either  in  Europe  or  America.  I 
never  heard  the  names  of  Lester  Wallack  or  Theodore 
Moss  mentioned  by  said  authors,  or  either  of  them.  I 
remember  saying  to  Mr.  Merivale,  prior  to  signing  of  the 
contract,  that  I  should  produce  the  play  in  France.  He 
said  it  was  a  good  idea,  and  that  he  would  translate  it  for 
me.  Before  the  signing  of  the  contract,  I  only  had 
casual  conversations  with  Mr.  Grove.  Mr.  Merivale  rep- 
resented him  with  full  -powers.  Afterwards,  and  when 
the  play  had  run  about  eight  days,  Mr.  Grove  called  upon 
me  at  my  residence  in  St.  John's  Wood,  London,  and, 
after  referring  to  the  unhappy  difference  that  had  arisen 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  215 

between  Mr.  Merivale  and  myself  touching  the  want  of 
capacity  of  the  sister-in-law  of  said  Merivale  to  fill  the 
aforesaid  part  of  Rose  de  Brissac,  stated  to  me  that  the 
executed  agreement  was  all  on  my  side ;  but  that  he  had 
submitted  it  to  his  solicitor,  Mr.  Martineau,  and  that  the 
said  Martineau  had  stated  that  the  contract  was  perfect 
and  valid.  But  that  he,  Grove,  hoped  I  would  change  it 
to  the  one  that  he  had  prepared.  He  then  handed  me 
the  paper  hereunto  annexed,  marked  "  Exhibit  C."  We 
discussed  its  terms.  He  said  it  was  not  fair;  that  I 
might  go  to  America,  and  stay  there  a  year,  and  that 
it  would  injure  the  piece  greatly  not  to  have  it  per- 
formed meanwhile  in  England.  He  therefore  proposed 
the  alteration  contained  in  subdivision  three  of  said 
Exhibit  C.  I  talked  freely  to  him  of  playing  the  piece 
in  the  United  States.  He  never  even  hinted  that  I 
had  no  right  to  do  so.  Indeed,  the  judge,  hearing  this 
motion,  will  find  that  in  exact  words,  in  subdivision  four 
of  said  Exhibit  C,  he  includes  the  United  States.  This, 
I  think,  quite  disposes  of  the  asserted  claim  of  Mr. 
Moss,  that  the  authors  had  already  verbally  sold  to  him 
the  right  to  produce  the  play  in  the  United  States.  Mr. 
Grove  urged  upon  me  that  I  ought  to  make  these  pro- 
posed changes,  as  the  play  was  very  successful.  I  in- 
formed him  that  I  had  made  the  play  a  success ;  that 
they  had  tried  for  years  to  sell  the  play  to  managers, 
both  in  England  and  America,  and  that  no  one  of  them 
could  be  induced  to  undertake  its  production.  He  did 
not  deny  this  statement,  but  insisted  that  I  ought  to 
change  the  terms.  I  told  him  we  had  already  agreed  upon 
our  terms ;  but  that,  if  I  found  the  play  was  a  great  suc- 
cess in  the  United  States,  I  would  send  him  a  further 
check  as  a  matter  of  good  feeling.  He  still  urged  me  to 
sign  Exhibit  C.  Finally  he  threatened  me,  that,  unless  I 


2l6  GENE VI EVE    WARD. 

signed,  they  would  write  a  novel  upon  the  play,  that 
somebody  would  dramatize  it,  and  thus  I  would  be  injured 
without  my  being  able  to  prove  that  they  did  it.  I  told 
him,  in  conclusion,  "that  I  should  consult  my  solicitor, 
and,  if  I  found  that  they  had  a  knife  at  my  throat,  I  would 
sign  it;  otherwise,  not."  He  then  handed  Exhibit  C  to 
my  brother,  and  left.  Mr.  Grove,  after  said  interview  on 
the  fifteenth  day  of  September,  1879,  sent  to  me  a  letter 
in  his  own  handwriting,  which  is  hereunto  annexed, 
marked  "  Exhibit  D."  He  simply  claims  therein  that 
I  have  no  right  to  produce  a  translation  of  the  play.  I 
have  never  modified  the  agreement,  and  it  remains  as 
it  was  executed.  After  the  contract  had  been  signed 
between  the  authors  and  myself,  two  engrossed  copies 
thereof  were  made,  and  sent  to  the  authors  for  execution, 
which  they  never  executed,  but  proposed  in  lieu  thereof 
the  said  Exhibit  C.  I  first  heard  in  January,  1880,  from 
Mr.  Bird,  my  attorney  herein,  of  the  claim  of  Mr.  Moss 
to  produce  the  play  in  the  United  States.  I  tried  to  learn 
from  the  authors  whether  or  not  they  had  sold  the  right 
to  the  United  States  prior  to  selling  it  to  me.  I  could 
not  learn  that  they  had.  Mr.  Grove  indignantly  denied, 
on  the  3  ist  of  January,  1880,  to  my  brother,  as  mentioned 
in  his  affidavit  hereunto  annexed,  that  he  had  made  any 
such  sale,  not  wishing  to  run  any  risk ;  and  on  the  fifth 
day  of  February,  1880,  my  brother,  at  my  request,  wrote 
to  Mr.  Grove,  requesting  an  answer  in  writing  as  to 
whether  the  authors  had  sold  the  play  for  the  United 
States  to  Mr.  Moss,  and  received  in  reply  from  the  solicit- 
ors of  said  Grove  an  answer  hereunto  annexed,  marked 
"  Exhibit  D,  No.  2,"  wherein  Mr.  Grove  indignantly 
spurned  the  imputation  of  an  earlier  sale  than  the  one  to 
me.  I  then  requested  my  attorney,  Mr.  Bird,  to  call  upon 
Mr.  Moss,  and  have  him  show  him  his  alleged  contract 


CENEVIEVE    WARD.  21 7 

with  the  authors.  Mr.  Bird  did  so,  and  informed  me  that 
it  was  without  date,  but  that  Mr.  Moss  had  stated  to  him 
that  he  would  swear  that  he  had  had  it  in  his  posses- 
sion for  two  years.  I  then  directed  Mr.  Bird,  as  I  was 
under  contract  with  Col.  Sinn,  of  the  Brooklyn  Park 
Theatre,  to  come  to  America  and  produce  "  Forget-Me- 
Not,"  to  call  upon  Mr.  Moss,  and  see  what  compromise 
could  be  made  with  him.  None  was  made  with  him.  I 
was,  however,  involved  in  such  doubt,  distrusting  the 
authors,  and  believing  the  statement  made  to  my  attorney 
by  said  Moss  to  be  true,  and  being  threatened  by  Mr. 
Moss  with  injunction  proceedings  if  I  came  to  America 
to  play  "  Forge t-Me-Not,"  that  I  had  to  abandon  my  en- 
gagement at  heavy  loss  to  myself  and  Col.  Sinn.  I 
advised  in  London  with  Mr.  Judah  P.  Benjamin ;  and  he 
counselled  me  to  have  an  action  brought  in  America 
against  Moss,  and  compel  him  to  show  his  contract,  so 
that,  if  it  should  appear  that  the  allegation  of  the  defend- 
ant Moss  was  true,  and  that  he  really  had  a  contract  prior 
in  date  to  mine,  and  taking  precedence  of  mine,  I  could 
bring  on  action  against  the  authors  in  England,  where  I 
then  was,  for  damages,  and  I  would  be  spared  the  further 
damage  of  coming  to  the  United  States,  and  asserting  a 
right  which  I  did  not  have.  I  directed  my  attorney,  Mr. 
Bird,  to  bring  this  action,  and  examine  Mr.  Moss  herein. 
Mr.  Moss  was  examined,  and  then  produced  his  alleged 
contract,  a  copy  of  which  is  hereunto  annexed,  marked 
"  Exhibit  E."  This  contract  was  not  acknowledged  until 
the  tenth  day  of  March,  1880.  It  is  only  an  assignment 
of  the  authors'  right,  title,  and  interest  in  and  for  the 
said  play  in  said  United  States.  Mr.  Moss  has  sworn 
in  this  case  that  he  received  the  contract,  Exhibit  E,  after 
the  tenth  day  of  March,  1880,  although  I  understand  he 
had  told  Mr.  Bird  that  he  had  had  possession  of  it  for  two 


21 8  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

yr.irs.  When  Mr.  Merivale  was  accused  of  double-deal 
ing  with  regard  to  this  alleged  contract  with  Mr.  Moss, 
he  published  in  a  London  paper,  called  "The  Era,"  a 
letter  over  his  signature,  which  is  hereunto  annexed, 
marked  "  Exhibit  F."  I  was  advised  by  my  attorney  that 
the  defendant  Moss  would  claim  that  "  Forget-Me-Not" 
had  been  published  and  sold  by  the  authors,  both  before 
and  since  my  purchase  as  aforesaid.  This  greatly  as- 
tonished me,  and  prepared  me  for  the  present  contract. 
I  have  caused  diligent  search  to  be  made  at  all  places  in 
London  where  the  said  play  would  be  exposed  for  sale  if 
the  same  had  been  published,  and  could  not  find  that  such 
had  been  or  was  the  case.  I  know,  when  I  purchased  the 
right  of  production  aforesaid,  I  applied  to  the  authors  for 
additional  copies  of  the  play,  and  Mr.  Merivale  informed 
me  that  he  had  none.  I  asked  him  if  he  did  not  know 
where  I  could  find  some,  and  he  answered  no.  I  further 
asked  him  if  he  thought  the  printer  might  not  have  some 
copies.  He  said  he  did  not  know,  so  I  called  upon  him  ; 
but  he  informed  me  that  only  one  hundred  private  copies 
had  been  printed,  and  that  he  had  none  on  hand.  I  am 
quite  sure  that  I  should  have  heard  of  the  fact  if  the  play 
had  been  published  and  sold  in  London  and  the  British 
Isles.  I  am  also  convinced  that  the  copies  referred  to  by 
Mr.  Moss,  if  they  are  in  existence,  have  either  been 
printed  since  my  purchase,  or  else  refer  to  the  limited 
edition  printed  as  aforesaid  but  not  published. 

Had  the  play  been  published  and  sold  at  the  time  of 
my  purchase  of  it--— thus  making  it  public  property^ — in 
this  country,  I  certainly  would  not  have  paid  the  large 
sum  of  three  hundred  pounds  for  it.  It  would,  under 
such  circumstances,  have  been  dishonest  in  the  authors 
to  have  taken  my  money,  as  they  knew  I  was  buying  a 
play  for  America.  I  was  advised,  that,  by  the  law  of 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  2TQ 

England,  the  play  must  first  be  produced  there,  and  that 
it  had  to  be  entered  under  the  act  generally  known  there 
as  the  Copyright  Act  of  the  5th  and  6th  of  Victoria,  chap. 
45,  enacted  July  I,  1842,  which,  amongst  other  things, 
provides,  "In  case  of  any  dramatic  piece  or  musical 
composition  in  manuscript,  it  shall  be  sufficient  for  the 
person  having  the  sole  liberty  of  representing  or  per- 
forming, or  causing  to  be  represented  or  performed,  the 
same,  to  register  only  the  title  thereof,  the  name  and 
place  of  abode  of  the  author  or  composer  thereof,  the 
name  and  place  of  abode  of  the  proprietor  thereof,  and 
the  time  and  place  of  its  first  representation  or  perform- 
ance." I  therefore  caused  the  said  requirements  to  be 
duly  observed,  so  as  to  protect  my  right  of  property  in 
said  play  in  England,  and  also  to  prevent  any  dedication 
thereof  to  the  public  under  British  laws.  This  was  done 
on  or  about  the  twenty-first  day  of  August,  1879.  The 
play  has  never  been  published  under  the  Copyright  Act, 
or  in  any  way,  either  by  the  authors  or  myself.  It  was  not 
necessary  to  publish  it  in  order  to  obtain  the  protection 
thereof.  The  reference  to  the  authors  as  owners  of  the 
copyright  of  a  play  called  "  Forget-Me-Not,"  in  the  con- 
tract, had  sole  regard  to  my  contemplated  act  aforesaid, 
and  was  inserted  by  my  lawyer  in  said  contract,  as  a  matter 
of  description  only,  at  my  request.  The  word  "copyright"' 
in  the  agreement  was  not  intended,  nor  does  it  refer  to  a 
published  play  of  "  Forget-Me-Not."  I  should  never 
have  purchased  the  right  of  production  of  said  play  if  it 
had  been  a  published  play.  Nothing  is  better  understood 
in  the  theatrical  profession  than  that  an  author  may  pre- 
serve the  manuscript  character  of  his  play  by  having  a 
number  of  copies  thereof  printed  for  private  use.  It  saves 
vast  trouble,  and  is  of  great  utility  in  the  distribution  and 
learning  of  parts.  I  know  that  authors  and  managers, 


220  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

both  in  Europe  and  America,  have  printed  what  are 
known  as  manuscript  copies  of  an  original  play.  Upon 
information  and  belief,  I  state  that  such  is  sometimes  the 
custom  and  habit  of  both  the  defendants  herein  at  their 
theatre,  known  as  "  Wallack's,"  in  this  city.  If  this  play 
has  been  published,  and  publicly  sold,  as  I  am  informed 
the  defendant  Moss,  in  his  extremity,  now  claims,  I  then 
charge  and  aver  that  it  has  been  done  since  I  purchased 
my  right  thereto,  and  in  pursuance  of  a  fraudulent  con- 
spiracy between  the  said  authors  and  the  said  defendant 
Moss.  I  deny  that  it  has  been  done.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  said  Moss  may  have  had  a  copy  of  said  play  in  his 
possession  at  or  about  the  time  stated  in  his  examina- 
tion hereunto  annexed,  marked  "Exhibit  G."  In  fact,  I 
have  been  informed  by  Mr.  George  Loveday  of  London, 
that,  several  years  ago,  Mr.  John  Clayton,  a  friend  of 
Mr.  Merivale's,  requested  him  to  open  negotiations  with 
Wallack's  Theatre  concerning  the  play  of  "Forget-Me- 
Not."  Merivale  was  then  not  mentally  capable  of  busi- 
ness. That,  in  pursuance  of  said  request,  the  said  Love- 
day  sent  to  said  Moss  a  copy  of  said  printed  manuscript 
play;  that  said  Moss  afterwards  returned  same  to  said 
Loveday,  and  subsequently  thereto  Loveday  returned  the 
same  to  said  Moss,  at  his  (Moss's)  request.  The  said 
Loveday  informed  me  that  the  said  Moss  thereafter  de- 
clined to  make  any  contract  concerning  the  said  play, 
and  that  the  negotiation  came  to  nought.  I  was  advised 
that  the  defendant  Moss  claimed  to  have  acquired  some 
rights  through  the  said  Mr.  John  Clayton.  I  therefore 
requested  my  brother  to  ask  him  concerning  same.  The 
result  of  the  investigation  was,  that  said  Mr.  Clayton 
sent  to  him  the  letter  hereunto  annexed,  marked  "  Ex- 
hibit H,"  which  is  in  his,  said  Clayton's,  handwriting.  I 
have  thus  shown  to  the  court  that  not  only  the  authors, 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  221 

but  that  all  the  parties  represented  by  said  Moss  to  have 
been  in  any  way  connected  with  the  alleged  verbal  sale 
to  him,  repudiate  the  same;  the  authors  claiming  that 
to  have  sold  it  to  me  when  they  had  previously  sold  it  to 
Mr.  Moss,  would  not  only  have  been  dishonorable,  but 
that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  no  contract  with  Moss  was  made 
until  they  sold  whatever  right,  title,  and  interest  to  the 
play  they  then  had,  "if  any  there  was,"  to  him  in  March, 
1880.  This  is  fully  shown  by  Exhibit  E,  being  without 
date,  and  having  been  acknowledged  as  late  as  March  10, 
1880.  The  acts  and  doings  of  said  Moss  are  in  keeping 
with  this  last  stated  fact.  He  never  advertised  that  he 
owned  the  right  to  "  Forget-Me-Not"  in  the  United 
States  until  March  28,  1880,  and  then  in  "The  World" 
newspaper  of  this  city,  just  after  the  receipt  of  Exhibit  E; 
and  subsequently  issued  a  circular  to  a  like  effect  under 
the  date  of  April  9,  1880.  I  desire  to  call  the  careful 
attention  of  the  court  to  Exhibit  E,  wherein  Mr.  Moss 
claims  to  have  purchased  his  right  from  Merivale  only. 
This  was  in  January,  1880.  No  doubt  the  fraud  was 
perfected  after  that  date  and  contract,  Exhibit  E  given, 
without  date,  to  bolster  it  up.  It  is  incredible,  if  he  had 
the  right  to  the  play  at  the  time  he  claims,  that  he  should 
have  slumbered  so  long  on  his  rights,  and  should  have 
permitted  the  play  to  have  been  produced  in  California 
without  any  attempt  on  his  part  to  stop  it.  As  soon  as  I 
was  notified  in  London  that  my  rights  were  being  invaded 
in  America,  I  caused  due  and  public  notice  of  my  owner- 
ship of  said  play  to  be  given  through  the  public  news- 
papers. I  also,  as  early  as  January,  1880,  caused  to 
be  sent  a  notice  thereof  to  every  theatre  in  America 
that  would  be  able  to  produce  the  play.  One  of  said 
notices  was  sent  to  Wallack's  Theatre,  with  the  result 
stated  in  the  affidavit  of  my  attorney,  John  H.  Bird. 


222  GENEV1EVE    U'.-IA'/>. 

This  was  the  first  time  I  ever  heard  of  the  asserted 
claim  of  said  Moss.  My  ri;  hts,  since  said  notification, 
have  been  respected  by  all  managers  !n  America,  except- 
ing the  defendant.  No  one  in  the  British  dominions  has 
dared  to  attempt  to  invade  them.  When  I  was  convinced 
that  the  claim  of  said  Moss  —  as  to  his  having  a  contract 
with  the  owners  prior  in  date  to  mine  —  was  spurious,  I 
then  directed,  as  before  stated,  that  the  action  brought 
against  him  should  be  prosecuted,  and  to  seek,  with  other 
relief,  an  injunction  restraining  him  from  performing  the 
play  in  the  United  States.  The  action  was  begun  by  the 
service  of  summons  on  Aug.  5,  1880.  The  said  defend- 
ant Moss  has  been  examined  under  an  order  of  the  chief 
judge  of  this  court,  and  a  copy  of  his  examination  is  here- 
unto annexed,  marked  '*  Exhibit  G."  I  never  believed 
that  the  defendants,  Moss  and  Wallack,  would,  in  the 
face  of  the  facts,  actually  produce  the  said  play  of 
"  Forget- Me -Not,"  until  I  received  a  letter  from  my 
attorney,  of  the  date  of  Nov.  26,  1880,  stating  that  the 
defendants'  attorney  had  told  him  that  as  soon  as  the 
run  of  "The  Gov'nor"was  over,  the  said  play  would 
be  produced  at  Wallack's  Theatre.  My  attorney  had 
previously  urged  upon  me  the  importance  of  my  being 
here  at  the  trial  of  the  case ;  and,  as  I  believed  I  was 
about  to  be  foully  wronged,  I  hastened  to  America  with 
such  hasty  affidavits  as  I  could  collect,  to  vindicate,  in 
person,  my  rights  in  a  court  of  justice.  Unfortunately, 
notice  of  my  departure  was  cabled  to  the  American 
newspapers;  and,  to  the  astonishment  of  the  theatrical 
world,  "The  Gov'nor"  was  withdrawn  in  the  midst,  "as 
the  defendants  claimed,"  of  its  prosperous  career,  and 
"  I-'orget- Me-Not"  substituted.  I  avei  that  this  \\;i> 
done  so  as  to  produce  the  play  before  I  could  arrive 
and  apply  for  an  injunction. 


WARD. 


My  attorney  informs  me  that  the  play  was  produced  in 
violation  of  a  verbal  understanding  between  counsel  to 
the  effect  that  after  it  was  determined  to  produce  the  play 
sufficient  time  would  be  allowed  him  to  send  to  Europe, 
and  get  necessary  affidavits.  He  also  tells  me  that  he 
granted  the  adjournments  of  the  defendants'  examination 
from  time  to  time,  upon  that  understanding.  That  ex- 
amination was  only  concluded  on  the  6th  inst.  I  now 
learn  that  the  defendants'  counsel  repudiates  any  such 
arrangement,  and  claims  that  my  attorney  is  wholly  mis- 
taken. Be  that  as  it  may,  when  I  arrived  here  on 
Wednesday,  the  22d  inst.,  I  found  that  the  defendants 
had  produced  said  play  of  "  Forget-Me-Not  "  at  their 
theatre,  on  Saturday  evening,  Dec.  18,  1880.  It  is  my 
firm  belief,  and  I  aver  the  same  to  be  the  truth,  that  said 
play  was  produced  on  that  date,  so  as  to  prevent  my  get- 
ting an  injunction  in  time  to  stop  it,  as  the  said  defend- 
ants well  knew  I  was  en  route  to  this  country  with  that 
purpose  in  view.  Since  my  arrival  here  I  have  devoted 
all  the  time  that  my  ill  health  would  permit,  in  giving  my 
said  attorney  the  facts  to  prepare  the  necessary  papers 
herein.  I  have  not  delayed  a  moment  that  could  have 
been  saved.  I  aver  that  Lester  Wallack  is  the  manager, 
and  Theodore  Moss  is  the  treasurer,  of  the  theatre  known 
as  "  Wallack's  "  in  this  city,  and  upon  information  and 
belief  that  both  share  as  partners  in  the  net  profits  there- 
of. That  both  are  now  producing,  in  violation  of  my 
exclusive  right  of  production  everywhere  of  said  play, 
said  play  at  said  Wallack's  Theatre  in  the  city  of  New 
York.  That  I  have  never  directly  or  indirectly  consented 
thereto.  That  the  said  Wallack  claims  to  produce  the 
said  play  under  a  verbal  license  from  his  co-defendant 
and  partner  Moss,  as  appears  by  said  examination  of  said 
Moss,  hereunto  annexed.  That  the  said  Wallack  well 


224  GENEVIEVE 

knows  my  rights  and  claims  in  the  premises,  and  that  the 
same  are  prior  to  any  pretended  claim  of  his  co-defend- 
ant. That  the  whole  has  been  done  by  the  said  defend- 
ants, each  and  both  of  them,  in  pursuance  of  a  conspiracy 
between  said  defendants  and  the  authors  of  said  play  to 
rob  me  of  my  exclusive,  right  to  produce  the  play  in  these 
United  States.  That  the  said  Moss  further  threatens, 
and  says  he  is  now  in  negotiation  with  other  managers, 
to  sell  to  them  licenses  to  produce  said  play  throughout 
the  United  States.  That  the  said  Wallack  is  a  party  to 
the  said  scheme,  and  is,  and  will  be,  interested  in  the 
profits  thereof.  That  the  right  to  the  exclusive  produc- 
tion upon  the  stage  of  said  play  is  of  great  value  to  me. 
I  verily  believe  that  during  the  time  I  am  entitled  to  it 
under  my  contract  it  will  be,  if  I  am  protected  in  my 
rights,  worth  upward  of  the  sum  of  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  That  I  created  the  part  of  Stephanie,  and  have 
played  it  nearly  three  hundred  times  in  the  kingdom  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  That  I  have  acquired  by 
hard  work,  and  the  expenditure  of  a  vast  deal  of  money, 
exceeding  the  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars,  great  artistic 
notoriety  in  the  part  of  Stephanie,  and  have  made  the  play 
of  "  Forget-Me-Not "  one  of  the  pecuniary  successes  of 
the  age.  That  hereunto  annexed,  marked  "  Exhibit  J," 
are  transcripts  from  the  leading  London  papers  concern- 
ing my  production  of  said  play,  and  my  representation  of 
the  leading  character  thereof.  That,  without  vanity,  I 
verily  believe  the  success  of  said  play  depends  upon  my 
creation  of  the  part  of  Stephanie.  That,  if  said  play  is 
permitted  to  be  played,  my  right  of  property  therein  will 
be  greatly  injured,  and  the  said  play  will  become  valueless 
to  me.  That  no  amount  of  damages  that  the  defendants 
are  able  to  pay  would  repay  me  for  the  time  and  money 
I  have  spent  in  introducing  this  often-rejected  play  to 


GENEVIEVR    WARD.  22$ 

the  public.  That  the  said  play  is  announced  for  nightly 
performance  •  at  said  Wallack's  Theatre,  and  that,  as 
deponent  is  informed  and  believes,  the  said  defendants 
are  now  arranging  a  company  to  play  said  piece  in  all  the 
principal  cities  of  the  United  States ;  that  the  production 
of  said  play  at  said  Wallack's  Theatre,  its  continued  per- 
formance thereat,  and  the  threats  to  license  others  to 
produce  the  same,  in  violation  of  my  rights  respecting 
the  subject  of  the  action,  and  tending  to  render  the  judg- 
ment to  be  recovered  herein  ineffectual,  have  all  occurred 
during  the  pendency  of  this  action ;  that  final  judgment 
has  not  been  rendered  herein;  that  I  never  intended  that 
the  said  play  of  "Forget-Me-Not"  should  be  published 
in  America,  and  I  do  not  now  so  intend.  In  fact,  I  do 
not  claim  the  right  to  copyright  said  play,  as  I  am  not 
the  author  thereof,  and  I  have  never  had  any  authority  or 
permission  from  said  authors  to  copyright  said  play  ;  that 
my  object  in  depositing  the  title-page  of  said  play  was  to 
secure  the  title  to  said  play,  and  the  manuscript  thereof. 
I  never  deposited  with  the  librarian  of  Congress  any  of 
the  printed  books  of  said  play.  I  was  subsequently  ad- 
vised that  the  play,  being  the  composition  of  foreign 
authors,  could  not  be  the  subject  of  a  valid  copyright,  and 
that  publication  was  a  condition  precedent  to  obtaining 
the  same ;  and,  further,  that  I  must  rely  upon  my  common 
law  rights,  which  would  afford  me  adequate  protection. 

That  the  production  of  said  play  at  said  Wallack's 
Theatre  has  already  done  me  great  pecuniary  injury,  and 
if  continued  during  the  pendency  of  this  action  the  in- 
jury will  be  irreparable. 

GENEVIEVE  WARD. 

Sworn  to  before  me,  this  thirty-first  day  of  December,  iSSo. 

MILES  F.  POWERS, 
Notary  Public,  Kings  County 
Certificate  filed  in  New-York  County. 


226  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

Superior  Court  of  the  Ci'tg  of  Neto  £}orfc. 
GENEVIEVE  WARD  against  THEODORE  Moss. 

I,  FREDERICK  CHARLES  of  the  city  of  London,  Eng- 
land, being  duly  sworn,  say  and  declare,  that  I  have  in- 
quired at  Stationers'  Hall,  in  the  city  of  London,  where 
all  plays  or  publications  are  recorded  (if  published  or 
printed),  if  the  play  "  Forget-Me-Not,"  by  Herman  C. 
Merivale  and  F.  C.  Grove,  had  been  recorded  or  regis- 
tered as  printed  and  published  for  public  circulation  or 
sale,  and  found  that  it  has  not  been  done.  I  have  also 
inquired  at  the  several  printing-offices  where  plays  are 
printed  and  published,  if  said  play  had  been  printed  or 
published  for  public  sale,  and  found  it  had  not  been.  I 
certify  that  to  my  certain  knowledge,  Miss  Genevieve 
Ward  has  expended  much  time,  money,  and  assiduous 
labor,  in  making  the  play  "  Forget-Me-Not "  a  success, 
and  that  it  is  due  to  her  personal  energy  and  acting  such 
success  is  chiefly  due. 

In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  this 
tenth  day  of  December,  A.D.  1880. 

FREDERICK  CHARLES. 

Sworn  by  Frederick  Charles,  at  the  Consulate-General  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  No.  53  Old  Broad  Street,  in 
the  city  of  London,  this  the  tenth  day  of  December,  1880, 
before  me, 

T.  NUNN, 

Vice  and  Deputy  Consul-General  and  ex-officio  a  Notary 
Public  of  the  United  States  at  London,  and  a  Com- 
[L.S.]      missioncr  to  administer  oaths  in  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Judicature,  in  England. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD. 


Superior  (Court  of  tfje  Citg  of  Nefn 

GENEVIEVE  WARD  against  THEODORE  Moss. 

I,  BRAM  STOKER  of  the  city  of  London,  England,  do 
solemnly  swear  and  declare,  that,  at  the  time  of  making 
the  arrangement  for  the  purchase  by  Miss  G.  Ward  from 
Herman  Charles  Merivale  and  Florence  Crawford  Grove 
of  the  play  of  "  Forget-Me-Not,"  no  mention  was  made 
to  me  or  to  my  knowledge  that  the  piece  or  any  of  the 
rights  thereto  had  been  in  any  way  previously  disposed 
of;  and  I  was  all  along  convinced  that  Miss  Genevieve 
Ward  was  purchasing  from  Messrs.  H.  C.  Merivale  and 
F.  C.  Grove  the  sole  and  entire  rights  of  the  play  for  the 
time  and  under  the  conditions  specified  in  the  agreement. 

In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  this 
tenth  day  of  December,  1880. 

BRAM   STOKER. 

Sworn  by  Bram  Stoker,  at  the  Consulate-General  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  No.  53  Old  Broad  Street,  in  the  city  of 
London,  this  the  tenth  day  of  December,  1880,  before  me, 

T.  NUNN, 

Vice  and  Deputy  Consul-General  and  ex-officio  a  Notary 
Public  of  the  United  States  at  London,  and  a  Com- 
[L.  S.]      missioner  to  administer  oaths  in  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Judicature  in  England. 

[EXHIBIT  A.] 

Memorandum  of  agreement  made  the  twenty-first  day  of 
August,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy-nine,  between 
Herman  Charles  Merivale  of  Barton  Lodge,  Kingston-on- 
Thames,  and  Florence  Crawford  Grove  of  4.  Bolton  Row, 
Piccadilly  (hereinafter  called  '"  the  authors")  of  the  one  part, 
and  Genevieve  Ward,  of  No.  10  Cavendish  Road,  Saint 
John's  Wood  (hereinafter  called  "  the  purchaser")  of  the  other 
part,  whereby  it  is  agreed  as  follows  :  — 


228  CENEVIEVE    WARD. 

1.  The  authors  who  are  the  owners  of  the  copyright 
of  a  play  called  "  Forget-Me-Not,"  hereby  agree  that  the 
purchaser  shall  have  the  sole  right  to  produce  for  her 
own   performance  the  said  play  for  performance  for  a 
period  of  five   years  from   the   date   hereof.    The  pur- 
chaser agrees  to  pay  for  such  right  the  sum  of  three 
pounds  for  every  occasion  during  the  aforesaid  period  on 
which  the  said  play  shall  be  produced  by  her  in  London, 
and  two  pounds  for  every  occasion  during  the  aforesaid 
period  in  which  the  play  shall  be  produced  by  her  else- 
where. 

2.  So  soon,  however,   as  a  sum   of    three    hundred 
pounds  shall  have  been  paid  by  the   purchaser  to  the 
authors,  under  the  first  clause  of  this  agreement,  she  shall 
from  that  time  have  the  sole  right,  until  the  expiration  of 
the  said  term  of  five  years,  to  produce  for  her  own  per- 
formance the  play  at  any  place,  without  making  any  pay- 
ment to  the  authors. 

3.  Upon  the  expiration  of  the  said  term  of  five  years, 
the  purchaser  shall  (provided  within  three  months  from 
that  time  she  intimates  in  writing  to  the  authors   ad- 
dressed, and  sent  by  post  to  their  last  known  places  of 
abode,  of  her  wish  to  do  so)  have  the  sole  right  to  pro- 
duce for  her  own  performance  the  said  play  for  a  further 
period  of  five  years  upon  precisely  similar  terms  as  re- 
gards payment  to  the  authors  as  those  mentioned  in  this 
agreement;   the  meaning  and  intention   of  the  parties 
hereto  being  that  the  purchaser  shall  in  fact  have  a  right 
to  renew  this  agreement  for  a  second  or  further  period  of 
five  years. 

4.  Nothing  in  this  agreement  contained  shall  affect  the 
right  of  the  authors  to  use  the  story  for  other  than  dra- 
matic purposes. 

HERMAN  C.  MERIVALE. 

F.  C.  GROVE, 

GENEVIEVE  WARD  (Per  A.  L.  W.). 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  22Q 

[EXHIBIT  B.] 

"THE  DAILY  TELEGRAPH,"  LONDON,  SEPT.  30, 1880. 
BEFORE  LORD  COLERIDGE  —  MERIVALE  v.  WARD. 

This  was  a  motion  for  an  injunction  to  restrain  the 
defendant  from  performing  or  allowing  to  be  performed 
the  play  of  "  Forget-Me-Not,"  with  the  omission  of  one 
of  the  characters.  It  appeared  that  the  plaintiffs,  Messrs. 
Merivale  and  Grove,  are  the  proprietors  of  the  play,  and 
the  defendant,  Miss  Genevieve  Ward,  had  purchased 
from  them  the  sole  right  of  representation  for  five  years 
from  1879. 

Mr.  Woodroffe  appeared  for  the  defendant,  and  ob- 
jected that  the  matter  was  not  vacation  business.  His 
lordship  said  the  motion  was  for  an  injunction  to  restrain 
a  performance  now  going  on,  and,  in  his  opinion,  was 
properly  vacation  business.  Mr.  Woodroffe  contended 
that  the  character  omitted  was  not  an  important  one,  and 
that  the  plaintiffs  had  sustained  no  damage  whatever. 
The  learned  counsel  handed  up  a  copy  of  the  play  in 
which  the  part  in  question  was. struck  out  in  pencil  by 
the  plaintiff  Merivale  himself.  A  letter  was  also  pro- 
duced, in  .which  Mr.  Merivale  said  the  play  was  much  too 
lengthy,  and  was  improved  by  the  omission  of  the  char- 
acter "  Rose."  Mr.  Ford  said  that  Mr.  Grove,  the  joint 
author  of  the  play,  did  not  agree  with  this  view.  Lord 
Coleridge  observed  that  Mr.  Grove  had  made  no  affidavit 
in  the  case.  Mr.  Ford  said  this  was  owing  to  his  ab- 
sence on  the  Continent,  and  asked  that  the  motion  might 
be  adjourned. 

His  lordship  refused  to  adjourn  the  motion,  and,  in 
delivering  judgment,  said  that  before  the  plaintiffs  could 
be  entitled  to  the  injunction  asked  for  they  must  show, 


230  GENE VI EVE    WARD. 

first,  that  there  had  been  a  breach  of  the  agreement ; 
secondly,  that  they  were  suffering  serious  damage  by 
such  breach :  thirdly,  that  the  damage  would  be  irrepara- 
ble if  the  court  did  not  grant  the  injunction.  Upon  none 
of  these  points  had  the  plaintiffs  succeeded,  and  it  was 
therefore  his  duty  to  refuse  the  motion  with  costs. 

[EXHIBIT  C] 

Memorandum  of  agreement  made  the  twenty-first  day  of  August, 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy-nine,  between  Herman 
Charles  Merivale,  of  Barton  Lodge,  Kingston-on-Thames,  and 
Florence  Crawford  Grove,  of  4  Bolton  Road,  Piccadilly, 
London  (hereinafter  called  "the  authors  ")  of  the  one  part,  and 
Genevieve  Ward,  of  JVb.  10  Cavendish  Road,  Saint  John's 
Wood  (hereinafter  called  "  the  purchaser")  of  the  other  part, 
whereby  it  is  agreed  as  follows :  — 

1.  The  authors,  who  are  the  owners  of  the  copyright 
of  a  play  called  "  Forget-Me-Not,"  hereby  agree  that  the 
purchaser  shall  have  the  sole  right  to  produce,  for  her 
own  performance,  the  said  play,  in  English,  as  written  by 
them,  for  a  period  of  three  years  from  the  2ist  August, 
1879.     The  purchaser  agrees  to  pay  for  such  right  the 
sum  of  three  (3)  pounds  sterling  for  every  occasion  dur- 
ing the  aforesaid  period  in  which  the  play  shall  be  pro- 
duced by  her  in  London,  and  two  (2)  pounds  sterling  for 
every  occasion  during  the  aforesaid  period  in  which  the 
play  shall  be  produced  by  her  elsewhere. 

2.  So  soon,  however,  as  a  sum  of  three  (3)  hundred 
pounds  sterling  shall  have  been  paid  by  the  purchaser  to 
the  authors,  under  the  first  clause  of  this  agreement,  she 
shall,  from  that  time,  have  the  sole  right,  until  the  expi- 
ration of  the  said  term  of  three  years,  to  produce  for  her 
own  performance  the  play,  at  any  place,  without  making 
any  payment  to  the  authors. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  23! 

3.  In  the  event  of  the  purchaser  ceasing  to  perform  on 
the  stage  in  England  for  a  period  of  three  consecutive 
months  during  the  said  term  of  three  years,  the  authors 
are  to  have  the  right  to  license  any  one  else  to  produce 
and  perform  the  play,  at  any  royalty  they  think  fit  to  take ; 
but  accounting  and  paying  to  the  purchaser  one-half  of 
whatever  royalty  they  do  so  take. 

4.  During  the  said  period  of  three  years  the  authors 
shall  have  the  right  to  license  translations   of  the  play 
into  a  foreign  language,  for  performance  in  any  country 
except  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  and  the  United  States. 

5.  During  the  said  period  of  three  years  the  authors 
shall  not  use  the  story  for  any  purpose  whatsoever. 

In  witness,  the  hands  of  the  parties,  the  day  and  year 
first  above  written. 

[EXHIBIT  D,  No.  i.] 

4  BOLTON  Row,  MAY  FAIR,  W.,  Sept.  13,  1879. 

DEAR  MADAME,  —  In  order  to  prevent  any  possible 
misunderstanding,  I  write  to  say  that  I  do  not  at  all  admit 
that  you  have  the  right  to  produce  a  translation  of  "  For- 
get-Me-Not."  I  regret  having  to  trouble  you,  but  I  think 
it  best  to  have  no  doubt  on  this  point. 
I  am  faithfully  yours, 

F.  C.  GROVE. 

[EXHIBIT  D,  No.  2.] 

36  THEOBALD'S  ROAD,  GRAY'S  INN,  W.C., 
7th  February,  1880. 

SIR, — We  are  requested  by  Mr.  Crawford  Grove  to 
acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  to  him  of  the  5th. 

He  is  much  surprised  that  a  question  which  imputed 
dishonorable  conduct  to  himself  and  Mr.  Merivale  should 
be  repeated ;  and,  having  regard  to  the  way  in  which  they 


232  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

have  been  treated,  he  is  not  inclined  to  assist  you  in 
asserting  an  alleged  right,  the  evidence  of  which  he  does 
not  admit. 

We  remain  your  obedient  servants, 

WALKER,  MARTINEAU,  &  CO. 
A.  LEE  WARD,  ESQ. 

[EXHIBIT  E.] 

We,  Florence  Crawford  Grove,  of  4  Bolton  Row,  May- 
fair,  London,  and  Herman  Charles  Merivale,  of  Barton 
Lodge,  Kingston-on-Thames,  England,  do,  in  considera- 
tion of  the  sum  of  one  dollar,  hereby  transfer,  assign, 
set  over,  and  convey  to  Theodore  Moss,  of  Wallack's 
Theatre,  New  York,  all  our  right,  title,  and  interest 
in  arTd  for  our  play  of  "  Forge t-Me-Not,"  in  and  through- 
out the  United  States  of  America,  and  we  do  hereby 
authorize  him  to  take  any  and  all  steps  necessary  for  the 
defence  of  the  said  right,  title,  and  interest. 

FLORENCE  CRAWFORD  GROVE.  [L.  s.] 
HERMAN  CHARLES  MERIVALE.  [L.  s.] 
Signed,  sealed,  and  delivered  in  presence  of 
T.  W.  VRIGON, 
Consulate  General  U.S.A.,  London. 

H.  H.  NERDMAN, 

Consulate  General  of  the  United  States 
of  America  for  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  at  London. 

On  the  tenth  day  of  March,  1880,  before  me,  Joshua  Nunn, 
Vice  and  Deputy  Consul  General  and  Notary  Public  ex- 
officio  of  the  United  States  of  America,  residing  at  Lon- 
don, England,  personally  appeared  Florence  Crawford 
Grove  and  Herman  Charles  Merivale,  to  me  known  to 
be  the  persons  of  that  name  severally  described  in,  and 
who  have  executed,  the  foregoing  assignment  or  instrument, 


GENE VI EVE    WARD.  233 

and  then  and  there  acknowledged  the  same  to  be  their  free 
and  voluntary  act  and  deed,  for  the  uses  and  purposes 
therein  contained ;  in  testimony  whereof  I  have  hereunto 
set  my  hand  and  affixed  my  official  notarial  seal,  at  Lon- 
don aforesaid,  the  day  and  year  above  written. 
[L.  s.]  J.  NUNN, 

Vice  and  Deputy  Consul  General,  U.  S.  A.,  London. 

[EXHIBIT  F.] 
«  THE  ERA,"  LONDON,  OCT.  3,  1880. 

"  FORGET-ME-NOT." 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Era. 

SIR,  —  There  is  a  paragraph  in  your  American  news 
with  reference  to  this  play  which  I  am  obliged  to  notice. 
It  throws  doubt  upon  the  "good  faith"  of  Mr.  Grove 
and  myself,  states  that  our  contract  contains  a  cla*use  sell- 
ing the  play  for  "  Great  Britain  and  elsewhere,"  and  that 
"  unquestionably  Mr.  Moss's  contract  with  us  was  made 
prior  to  the  other  "  —  as  your  correspondent  "  hears  "  — 
a  year  or  more. 

Imputations  upon  our  good  faith  do  not  much  trouble 
men  of  Mr.  Grove's  character  and  mine ;  but  we  are 
not  good  at  what  is  known  and  admired  in  the  modern 
dramatic  world  as  "  smartness,"  and  it  will  probably  be 
some  time  before  we  have  thoroughly  sifted  and  exposed 
a  very  discreditable  affair,  which,  having  begun  with  it, 
we  now  intend  to  do. 

There  is  no  clause  about  "  Great  Britain  and  else- 
where ; "  and,  if  there  had  been,  it  would  have  exposed 
its  own  futility,  as,  being  British  authors,  we  had  no 
rights  outside  our  own  country  to  give.  The  contract 
described  us  as  "  owners  of  the  copyright,"  and  let 
the  play  for  so  much  a  night  in  London,  and  so  much 


234  GENEV1EVE    WARD. 

elsewhere,  —  a  word  which  does  not  mean  the  moon. 
"  Owners  of  the  copyright "  limits  the  operation  of  the 
contract  to  places  where  we  possessed  it,  —  the  Islands 
and  possibly  the  Colonies,  about  which  last  I  don't  know. 
As  for  an  "  American  right,"  people  do  not  usually  give, 
or  intend  to  give,  what  they  haven't  got.  We  might 
just  as  well  have  let  Buckingham  Palace.  The  difficulty 
of  all  English  authors  is  to  secure  a  right  in  America. 
If  it  could  be  done  by  the  very  simple  process  of  omit- 
ting allusions  to  America  in  the  agreement,  that  diffi- 
culty would  be  strikingly  simplified.  I  do  not  under- 
stand how  such  a  claim  can  be  seriously  put  forward ; 
but  no  doubt  the  American  courts  will  know  how  to 
deal  with  it. 

As  to  our  agreement  with  Mr.  Moss,  we  might,  I  pre- 
sume, have  made  it  when  we  liked,  on  principle  of  doing 
what  we  please  with  our  own.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  and 
in  spite  of  your  correspondent's  "  unquestionable  "  infor- 
mation, we  made  the  assignment  to  Mr.  Moss  in  the  only 
legal  way  we  found  practicable,  six  months  or  more  after 
the  first  contract,  for  no  consideration  in  money  whatever, 
and  in  simple  self-defence  against  the  extraordinary 
tricks  then  being  practised  on  us  and  our  play,  both  in 
England  and  America. 

While  I  am  upon  the  subject,  I  may  as  well  'allude  to 
this  morning's  decision  in  the  matter  of  the  injunction 
for  which  we  applied  to  prevent  the  mutilation  of  the 
play.  I  was  myself  in  Leicester,  and  came  up  too  late, 
under  the  impression  the  case  was  to  come  on  in  the 
afternoon.  I  therefore  had  no  opportunity  of  explaining 
what  I  must  now  reserve  for  a  later  period.  That  the 
"letter"  produced,  without  any  statement  of  the  cir- 
cumstances which  followed,  makes  the  matter,  in  my 
opinion,  infinitely  worse  with  reference  especially  to  Mr. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  235 

Grove.  But  for  all  further  action  I  shall  wait  till  Mr. 
Grove's  return  from  the  Continent,  where  he  is  at  pres- 
ent travelling.  You  will  now  have  published  "  both  sides 
of  the  question  "  in  a  preliminary  form,  and  will,  I  hope, 
refrain  from  further  discussion  till  the  whole  matter  has 
been  the  subject  of  inquiry. 

Meanwhile,  it  is  as  well  that  authors  and  actors,  from 
their  different  points  of  view,  should  be  thoroughly 
aware  that  an  original  English  play  is  now  being  acted 
in  London  with  the  omission  of  a  character  in  the  mature 
and  deliberate  judgment  of  both  the  authors  essential, 
after  an  express  prohibition  addressed  to  the  responsible 
manager  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  three  weeks  before  its 
production,  and  by  him  deliberately  disregarded. 

Faithfully  yours, 

(Signed)  HERMAN   MERIVALE. 

SEPT.  29,  1880. 

[EXHIBIT  G.] 
Nrfn  |30rfe  Superior  Court. 

GENEVIEVE  WARD  against  THEODORE  Moss. 

Examination  of  Theodore  Moss,  in  pursuance  of  an  order  made 
herein  by  Mr.  Justice  Sedgwick,  on  the  fifth  day  of  August, 
1880. 

I  reside  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  have  resided 
here  for  forty  years  past;  have  been  engaged  in  the 
theatrical  business  for  a  number  of  years ;  have  been, 
and  am  now,  engaged  as  a  manager ;  I  know  the  play  of 
"  Forget-Me-Not ;  "  I  know  that  Merivale  and  Grove  are 
the  authors  of  the  play ;  Mr.  Merivale's  first  name  is 
Herman  Charles,  and  Mr.  Grove's  full  name  is  Florence 
Crawford ;  I  do  not  know  them  personally. 


236  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

Q.  Do  you  claim  an  interest  in  the  play  of  "  Forget- 
Me-Not"? 

Objected  to,  and  answered  subject  to  objection. 

A.  I  do  claim  the  entire  and  exclusive  right  and  own- 
ership of  the  play  in  the  United  States  of  America,  to  do 
just  as  I  please  with  it. 

Q.  When  did  you  acquire  that  right  ? 

Objected  to,  and  reserved. 

A.  Verbally  in  1878.  When  I  was  notified  by  Col. 
Sinn  that  Miss  Ward  claimed  some  rights  in  the  play,  I 
notified  Mr.  Sinn  that  I  owned  the  play ;  and  I  then  sent 
to  the  authors  for  a  written  contract,  which  I  received, 
and  a  copy  of  which  has  been  furnished  to  plaintiff's 
attorney. 

Q.  Does  your  title  to  the  play  in  question  arise  by  a 
purchase  thereof? 

Objected  to,  and  answered  subject  to  objection. 

A.  It  does. 

Q.  From  whom  did  you  purchase- it? 

Objected  to,  and  answered  as  above. 

A.  From  the  authors  above  named. 

Q.  Was  such  purchase  evidenced  by  any  memorandum 
in  writing? 

Objected  to,  and  answered  as  above. 

A.  The  purchase  was  both  verbal  and  written. 

Q.  Have  you  now  got  possession  of  the  written  part  of 
that  agreement  ? 

Objected  to,  and  answered  subject  to  objection. 

A.  It  is  in  the  hands  of  my  counsel,  Mr.  Dittenhoefer. 

Q.  Will  you  produce  it  on  this  examination,  and  show 
it  to  me,  as  counsel  to  Miss  Ward,  and  submit  it  for  my 
examination  ?  • 

Objected  to,  and  answered  subject  to  objection. 

A.  I  will  not,  unless  ordered  to  by  the  Court. 


GENE VI EVE    WARD.  237 

Q.  When  did  you  receive  this  written  paper? 

Objected  to,  and  question  reserved. 

A.  I  must  have  received  it  after  the  tenth  day  of 
March,  1880.  I  have  no  present  recollection. 

Q.  Have  you  made  any  arrangement  or  contract  for 
the  production  of  the  play  of  "  Forget-Me-Not  "  ? 

A.  I  have  made  no  arrangement,  but  have  had  some 
negotiations  for  its  production ;  but  have  made  no  licenses 
nor  granted  any  permissions  for  its  production. 

Q.  Do  you  intend  to  produce  the  play  ? 

Question  objected  to,  and  answered  subject  to  ob- 
jection. 

A.  I  do. 

Q.  Have  you  got  a  copy  of  the  play  in  your  pos- 
session ? 

Objected  to,  and  answered  as  above. 

A.  I  have  a  copy,  received  from  the  authors  them- 
selves. 

Q.  Is  the  copy  in  your  possession  in  print,  or  manu- 
script ? 

Objected  to,  and  question  reserved. 

A.  It  is  in  print. 

Q.  When  did  you  receive  the  copy  of  the  play  that 
you  have  in  your  possession  ? 

Objected  to,  and  question  reserved. 

A.  The  first  copy  that  I  had  was  in  1876,  and  that  was 
in  print. 

Q.  Did  the  copy  in  your  possession  and  the  memo- 
randum in  your  possession  come  to  you  at  the  same  time, 
or  at  different  times?  and,  if  at  different  times,  which 
came  first  ? 

Objected  to,  and  question  reserved. 

A.  At  different  times,  and  a  copy  of  the  play  came 
first. 


238  CENEVIEVE    WARD. 

Q.  Were  your  negotiations  for  the  purchase  conducted 
by  correspondence  with  the  authors,  or  conducted  through 
the  medium  of  a  third  person  ? 

Objected  to,  and  question  reserved. 

A.  I  received  the  play  first  through  my  agent,  Mr. 
Floyd:  the  negotiations  were  partly  conducted  by  him 
and  partly  by  myself. 

Q.  Have  you  in  your  possession  any  letters  from  the 
authors,  or  either  of  them,  upon  the  subject  of  the  pur- 
chase, or  of  acquiring  your  title  to  this  play  ? 

Objected  to,  and  answered  as  above. 

A.  I  have  a  number  of  them. 

Q.  Who  are  those  letters  from  ? 

Objected  to,  and  question  reserved. 

A.  From  Mr.  Merivale. 

Q.  About  when  are  those  letters  dated,  and  about 
when  were  they  received? 

Objected  to,  and  declines  to  answer. 

Q.  At  the  time  you  purchased  the  play  of  "  Forget-Me- 
Not,"  or  the  right  to  produce  it  in  America,  or  whatever 
proprietary  interest  you  may  have  therein,  were  you 
informed  by  any  person  that  the  plaintiff,  Genevieve 
Ward,  had  an  interest  in  the  play  ? 

Objected  to,  and  answered  subject  to  objection. 

A.  When  I  first  received  the  play,  Miss  Ward  had 
never  heard  of  it,  as  I  am  informed ;  since  that  I  have 
been  informed  by  the  authors  that  she  never  had  any 
rights  in  the  United  States. 

Q.  When  the  authors  so  informed  you,  did  he  or  they 
inform  you  what  rights  Miss  Ward  had? 

Objected  to,  and  reserved. 

A.  No. 

Q.  When  you  were  informed  by  the  authors  that  the 
plaintiff  had  no  rights  in  the  United  States,  was  it  before, 
or  after,  your  purchase  ? 


GENE  VIE  VE    WARD.  239 

Objected  to,  and  reserved. 

A.  It  was  after. 

Q.  Was  the  information  you  speak  of  respecting  Miss 
Ward's  want  of  right  in  the  United  States  conveyed  to 
you  in  writing? 

Objected  to,  and  answered  as  above. 

A.  It  was. 

Q.  Will  you  produce  that  letter,  and  allow  me,  as 
counsel  for  Miss  Ward,  to  examine  it? 

Objected  to,  and  answered  as  above. 

A.  I  will  not,  unless  ordered  by  the  Court. 

Q.  Why  will  you  not  produce  it  ? 

A.  Because  I  am  advised  by  the  counsel  that  is  not 
proper. 

Adjourned  by  consent  to  Aug.  31,  1880,  at  12  M. 

Adjourned  by  consent  to  Sept.  7,  1880,  at  12  M. 

JOHN   H.   BIRD, 

Plaintiff's  Attorney. 

I  sold  the  right  to  produce  the  play  to  Mr.  Wallack  for 
the  city  of  New  York.  I  did  that  before  my  examination 
in  this  cause ;  but  I  did  not  think,  when  I  was  inquired  of 
respecting  transfers,  that  you  meant  to  refer  to  Wallack's 
Theatre.  The  license  to  Wallack  is  verbal,  and  made 
ever  since  I  have  had  the  play. 

Q.  What  consideration,  if  any,  did  you  pay  for  the 
assignment  of  the  play  to  you  ? 

A.  An  agreement  to  pay  royalties.  The  agreement  as 
to  royalties  was  by  correspondence.  I  don't  remember 
the  date.  I  don't  know  when  the  play  will  be  produced 
at  Wallack's. 

Cross-examined.  —  I  first  got  a  printed  copy  in  Decem- 
ber, 1876,  or  January,  1877.  I  returned  the  play  to  the 
authors.  In  1878  we  telegraphed  or  wrote  to  send  the 


240  CENEVIEVE    \VARD. 

play  back,  as  we  had  a  chance  to  produce  the  play.  In 
December,  1878,  got  a  printed  copy  of  the  play  back. 
About  the  time  I  received  the  written  contract,  I  got 
three  o.r  four  copies  from  the  authors. 

THEODORE  MOSS. 

Sworn  to  before  me  this  sixth  day  of  December,  1880. 

A.  A.  CAULDWELL, 
Notary  Public,  New-York  Co. 

[EXHIBIT  H.] 

VAUDEVILLE  THEATRE,  Feb.  7, 1880. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  WARD,  —  I  am  in  the  middle  of  re- 
hearsal, so  please  excuse  my  writing  in  great  haste  with 
such  material  as  I  can  find. 

I  have  seen  your  letter  to  Mr.  Grove,  in  which  you  used 
the  word  "  sold  "  in  regard  to  "  Forget-Me-Not."  I  never 
asserted  in  any  way  the  play  had  been  sold  to  me. 

What  I  informed  you  was,  that,  by  Mr.  Merivale's 
desire,  I  some  years  ago  caused  the  right  to  be  registered 
in  America  in  my  name  and  that  of  an  American  citizen, 
to  produce  a  propriety  right  for  the  authors.  It  appears 
Mr.  Grove  was  never  told  of  this :  he  now  knows  this 
fact.  la  haste, 

Yours  truly, 

JNO,  CJ-AYTON 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  241 

[EXHIBIT  I.] 
WALLACK'S. 

MR.  LESTER  WALLACK Proprietor  and  Manager. 

MEMORANDUM. 
With  the  compliments  of  Mr.  Theodore  Moss,  Treasurer. 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  14, 1880. 

JOHN  H.  BIRD,  ESQ. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  am  in  receipt  of  a  circular  from  you  rela- 
tive to  the  play  of  "  Forget-Me-Not ;  "  and  I  would  notify 
you  in  return,  that,  whatever  rights  your  client  may  pos- 
sess in  the  piece  for  Great  Britain,  she  has  none  for 
America.  For  your  further  information,  I  would  state 
that  I  acquired  the  only  legitimate  right  to  "  Forget-Me- 
Not"  for  this  country  direct  from  Mr.  Herman  Merivale, 
as  I  shall  be  prepared  to  show  when  occasion  demands. 
Yours  sincerely, 

THEO.  MOSS. 

[EXHIBIT  J.] 
MISS   GENEVIEVE   WARD. 

"  FORGET-ME-NOT." 
PRINCE  OF  WALES'S  THEATRE,  LONDON. 

A  success  upon  which  Miss  Genevieve  Ward  and  play- 
goers are  equally  to  be  congratulated.  The  acting  of 
Miss  Ward  is  beyond  question  fine :  her  manner  is  excel- 
lent. Through  all  her  banter  and  her  fencing  with  her 
opponent,  which  is  expressed  with  admirable  point  and 
vivacity,  she  never  permits  one  to  lose  sight  of  the  terri- 
ble earnestness  of  her  purpose,  and  her  resolve  to  push 


242  CENEVIEVE    WARD. 

the  weapon  chance  has  put  into  her  hands  home  to  the 
very  hilt.  The  first  dawn,  too,  of  that  sheer  physical 
fear  to  which  she  is  eventually  to  succumb,  and  her 
efforts  to  suppress  it,  are  very  finely  marked.  —  The 
'Times. 

Miss  Genevieve  Ward's  Stephanie,  Marquise  de  Moh- 
rivart,  gambler,  adventuress,  false  friend,  and  pitiless 
enemy,  may  fairly  take  rank  among  the  most  powerful 
impersonations  the  modern  stage  has  seen.  Although 
Stephanie  is  shown  chiefly  as  a  woman  of  invincible 
determination,  working  out  her  own  plans  with  an  utter 
disregard  of  the  feelings  of  those  in  her  power,  and 
doing  all  this  under  cover  of  an  imperturbably  sarcastic 
and  polished  manner,  the  character  is  an  extremely  diffi- 
cult one  to  play.  The  woman,  wicked  as  she  is,  and 
relentless  as  she  glories  in  appearing,  is  not  wholly  lost 
to  softer  emotions.  She  has  her  brief  flashes  of  tender- 
ness, and  her  equally  transient  sensations  of  shame,  to 
express.  While  at  war  with  all  the  world  of  respecta- 
bility, she  has  to  make  her  abject  appeal  to  be  allowed  a 
place  in  that  world ;  and  these  alternations  of  feeling  are 
presented  by  Miss  Genevieve  Ward  with  a  power  and 
truthfulness  we  have  very  rarely  seen  approached.  Her 
appeal  to  Sir  Horace  Welby  when,  wishing  <o  lead  a  new 
life,  she  implores  him  to  be  silent  as  to  her  disreputable 
antecedents,  is  as  quietly  touching  and  pathetic  as  her 
sudden  outburst  of  indignation  after  he  has,  by  way  of 
answer,  threatened  her  with  exposure  is  impressive  in  its 
concentrated  passion.  Miss  Ward  plays  this  scene  of 
the  appeal  and  the  defiance  very  finely.  The  reception 
given  to  "  Forget-Me-Not"  was  nothing  short  of  enthusi- 
astic. —  Morning  Advertiser. 

No  spectator  can  fail  to  admire  the  power  and  inten- 
sity of  Miss  Genevieve  Ward's  impersonation  of  the 
heroine.  —  Daily  News. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  243 

Of  Miss  Genevieve  Ward's  fine  performance  of  Ste- 
phanie \ve  have  had  occasion  before  now  to  express  our 
hearty  admiration.  It  is  a  brilliant  impersonation,  care- 
fully thought  out,  artistically  finished,  and  intimating  in 
the  actress  not  alone  poetic  imagination  and  histrionic 
passion,  but  also  that  mental  culture  which  gives  to 
acting  a  certain  intellectual  charm  not  very  easy  of  defi- 
nition, but  irresistible  in  its  influence.  It  is  high  praise, 
but  no  higher  than  she  deserves,  to  say  of  Miss  Ward, 
that  in  the  subtlety  of  her  by-play  and  the  general  refine- 
ment of  her  execution  she  at  times  reminds  us  of  Madame 
Ristori.  —  Morning  Post. 

A  signal  success  in  the  present  instance  is  obtained, 
and  the  enthusiasm  aroused  was  of  a  kind  that  can 
scarcely  fail  to  spread  to  succeeding  audiences.  Miss 
Genevieve  Ward  has  thoroughly  mastered  the  character 
of  Stephanie,  the  heroine,  and  gives  in  it  an  example  of 
art  equally  remarkable  for  breadth  and  delicacy.  Not  a 
movement,  not  a  gesture,  is  there  which  is  not  carefully 
thought  out.  The  whole  affords  an  instance  of  that 
patient  elaboration  to  which  the  highest  results  in  art 
are  due.  In  appearance,  and  in  every  other  respect,  the 
performance  is  a  masterpiece  of  exposition,  establishing 
the  position*  of  the  actress,  and  rendering  as  interesting 
as  possible  a  character  which  from  the  first  is  intended 
to  be  anti-pathetic.  —  Globe. 

I  would  earnestly  advise  all  those  who  are  interested 
in  the  higher  phases  of  dramatic  art  to  pay  a  visit  to  the 
Prince  of  Wales's  Theatre.  It  is  a  long  time  since  I 
have  seen  such  an  actress  as  Miss  Genevieve  Ward;  and 
in  her  knowledge  of  her  art,  and  her  power  of  giving  ex- 
pression to  it,  she  has  certainly  no  rival  at  present  on  the 
English  stage.  Of  drawing-room  charade  acting,  of  carv- 
ing on  cherry-stones,  and  the  representation  of  society 


244  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

prettiness,  we  have  had  in  all  conscience  enough.  Such  a 
performance  as  that  now  given  by  Miss  Ward  reminds 
us  pleasantly  that  acting  is  an  art,  and  comforts  us  with 
the  feeling  that  in  our  day  it  has  still  an  exponent.  The 
interest  centres  in  Miss  Ward ;  and  the  subtlety  and 
power  of  her  acting  haunt  the  memory  when  all  else  is 
forgotten. —  World, 

Without  a  doubt,  the  best  performance  of  last  year 
was  the  Stephanie  of  Miss  Genevieve  Ward,  a  stufiy  of 
female  character  so  nervous,  forcible,  and  expressive,  so 
different  from  the  fastidious  littleness  and  faded  pretti- 
ness that  occasionally  elbow  their  way  into  the  com- 
panionship of  art,  that  all  who  saw  it  last  autumn  re- 
corded their  favorable  impression  of  it  without  hesitation, 
and  wished  that  London  had  been  at  home  to  see  that 
rare  combination,  a  good  play  thoroughly  well  acted. 
Good  as  was  Miss  Genevieve  Ward  at  the  outset,  she  is 
far  better  now.  The  study  of  the  fated  Stephanie  is 
rounded,  finished,  polished,  and  made  more  thoroughly 
convincing.  Fanciful  people  will  complain  that  Stepha- 
nie is  a  bad  woman,  and,  as  such,  has  no  right  to  pose  as 
the  heroine  of  a  drama :  they  will  gather  up  their  moral 
skirts,  and  wonder  what  interest  can  be  attached  to  the 
ambition,  the  hesitation,  the  defeat,  and  tfle  despair  of 
this  proud,  cold,  passionless  beauty.  But  those  who  love 
bold  acting  and  good  art  will  here  find  a  study  most 
worthy  of  contemplation,  from  the  time  when  Stephanie 
bursts  upon  the  scene  to  the  saddened  hour  when  crushed, 
humiliated,  broken,  and  paralyzed  with  fear,  she  crouches 
at  the  presence  of  the  instrument  of  her  doom,  and  totters 
from  the  scene  a  wreck  and  a  ruin.  In  cold  and  defiant 
sarcasm,  Miss  Ward  is  excellent  to  a  fault;  in  the  ex- 
pression of  a  just  and  righteous  indignation,  as  when  she 
lashes  with  her  tongue  the  selfishness  and  cowardice  of 


GENE VI EVE    WARD.  245 

her  arch-enemy,  man,  she  is  exalted  and  absolutely  con- 
vincing. In  her  physical  fear  she  is  horribly  true ;  but 
it  is  in  the  passages  when  a  better  nature  is  struggling 
with  a  studied  indifference,  when  acting  is  fighting  with 
reality,  when  the  woman  is  wrestling  with  the  fiend,  and 
the  heart  is  striving  for  mastery  with  the  manner,  that 
Miss  Genevieve  Ward  gives  her  best  contribution  to  art. 
The  expression  of  the  face  shows  what  a  mental  conflict 
is  raging,  and  there  are  countless  instances  where  the 
woman's  nature  changes  at  the  dictation  of  art.  Acting 
so  striking  as  this  seldom  fails  ;  and  we  seem  to  perceive 
in  the  surprise  and  content  of  the  audience  a  recognition 
that  is  seldom  delayed.  —  The  Daily  Telegraph. 

Miss  Genevieve  Ward's  performance  of  the  Marquise 
is  a  singularly  forcible  conception,  carried  out  with  rare 
art.  At  times  the  actress-rises  to  a  height  of  passion  and 
emotional  power  seldom  seen  upon  our  stage.  —  Standard. 

Miss  Genevieve  Ward  plays  the  adventuress,  Stepha- 
nie, with  an  elaboration  of  detail,  and  a  finish,  both  of 
which  are  remarkable.  A  performance  with  more  that 
is  genuine,  original,  and  powerful  has  not  recently  been 
seen  on  the  stage.  —  Athenceum. 

In  the  present  instance  a  portrait,  as  shown  us  by  Miss 
Genevieve  Ward,  stands  out  in  such  rich  and  glowing 
colors  as  are  rarely  to  be  seen  on  the  canvas  of  the 
English  stage.  A  more  magnificent  performance  than 
that  of  Miss  Ward  has  not  been  witnessed  for  years.  A 
public  which  greeted  Sarah  Bernhardt  with  adulation, 
and  applauded  her  with  effusion,  cannot  fail  to  recognize 
that  in  Genevieve  Ward  stands,  not  the  rival  of  the 
French  woman,  but  her  superior.  Miss  Ward  gains  her 
triumph  by  no  bruyant  effects,  no  coarse  exaggeration, 
but  by  subtle  touches,  the,  grand  passion,  and  the  dra- 
matic force  which  are  the  characteristics  of  a  true  artist. 


246  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

In  her  great  scene  with  Mr.  Clayton  (who  plays  Sir  Hor- 
ace Welby)  the  way  she  turns  upon  him,  the  former 
companion  of  Madame  de  Mohrivart's  vices,  but  now  the 
defender  of  injured  innocence,  is  not  less  fine  in  its  treat- 
ment than  her  abject  terror  when  the  image  of  the  aven- 
ging Corsican  in  the  garden  is  disclosed  to  her.  The 
insolence  and  the  bravado  of  the  notorious  adventuress 
in  Act  II.  have  changed  in  this  last  scene  to  the  utter 
helplessness  of  the  horror-struck  woman,  and  bring  down 
the  curtain  upon  a  faultless  display  of  the  histrionic  art.  — 
Life. 

The  actress  who  plays  the  Marquise  de  Mohrivart  finds 
provided  for  her  by  the  authors  of  "  Forget-Me-Not "  a 
character  drawn  with  a  firm  hand,  with  unflinching  con- 
sistency, and  with  a  general  feeling  for  dramatic  effect. 
The  rdle  is  in  many  ways  a  repulsive  one,  and  calls  for 
no  little  courage,  as  well  as  ability,  on  the  part  of  the 
actress  who  would  do* it  full  justice.  This  courage  is  not 
lacking  in  Miss  Genevieve  Ward,  who  never  wavers  in 
her  determination  to  present  to  us  the  painted  adven- 
turess, hard,  selfish,  cruel,  and  subject  only  on  the  rarest 
of  occasions  to  spasms  of  womanly  feeling.  The  art  by 
which  the  actress  gives  to  her  embodiment  a  power  akin 
to  the  fascination  of  the  rattlesnake,  by  which  she  makes 
Stephanie's  baleful  influence  felt  in  every  tone  of  the 
smooth,  calm  voice,  in  every  smile  of  the  glittering  eyes, 
and,  most  of  all,  in  the  woman's  resolute  repose,  is  unmis- 
takable. The  traces  of  humanity  in  the  fiendish  nature 
are  indicated  with  consummate  tact;  bursts  of  eloquence 
come  without  apparent  effort  when  they  are  called  for, 
and  not  a  single  point  of  the  difficult  study  is  missed. 
The  performance  was  a  fine  one  when  Miss  Ward  first 
attempted  it ;  now  that  she  has  many  times  repeated  it, 
it  has  gained  in  fulness  and  ripeness,  without  any  ap- 


GENE VI EVE    WARD.  247 

proach  to  over-emphasis  or  to  staginess.  It  should  on 
no  account  be  missed  by  those  who  can  enjoy  watching 
a  powerful  dramatic  conception,  powerfully  worked  out. 
The  success  of  "  Forget-Me-Not "  was  last  night  even 
more  pronounced  than  on  the  occasion  of  its  original 
production.  —  Observer. 

Miss  G.  Ward  acts,  with  much  power  and  great  finish, 
a  part  that  would  be  worthless  in  the  hands  of  a  less- 
practised  artiste.  It  is  not  a  character  which  creates  the 
slightest  sympathy,  and  consequently  her  success  is  more 
difficult  to  attain,  and  more  creditable  when  reached. 
There  was  great  applause  at  the  end  of  each  act,  and 
Miss  Ward,  in  the  second  act,  was  applauded  from  all 
parts  of  the  house  with  a  heartiness  and  persistence  that 
seldom  occurs.  —  Weekly  Times. 

The  great  theatrical  hit  for  which  we  have  been  wait- 
ing so  long  has  come  at  last !  The  re-opening  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales's  Theatre  with  Miss  Genevieve  Ward's 
"  Forget-Me-Not "  has  fulfilled  all  the  anticipations  which 
had  been  formed  of  its  success.  Of  Miss  Ward's  mag- 
nificent impersonation  of  the  heroine,  it  need  only  be 
said,  that  it  is  one  of  the  finest  pieces  of  acting  on  the 
London  stage.  The  immense  talent  displayed  by  Miss 
Ward  in  the  character  of  Stephanie  will  be  long  remem- 
bered. —  Cotirt  Journal. 

Miss  Genevieve  Ward  assumed  her  original  part  of  the 
vindictive,  scheming  woman,  who  has  attained  the  cog- 
nomen of  "  Forget-Me-Not."  Her  acting  is  certainly 
artistic  and  finished,  and  she  met  with  well-deserved 
success  in  a  character  which  is  all  "against  the  audi- 
ence."—  Lloytfs  Weekly. 

"  Forget-Me-Not "  is  decidedly  the  best  original  drama 
written  last  year,  and  Miss  Genevieve  Ward  is  decidedly 
the  only  actress  I  know  of  on  the  English  stage  fitted  to 


248  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

grapple  with  the  terrible  central  character  of  the  play. 
She  is  an  actress  of  intense  power  and  passion,  and  she 
has  made  a  marvellously  close  and  artistic  study  of  this 
wonderful  character.  Stray  depths  of  possible  tender- 
ness and  gentleness  are  curiously  suggested  in  Stepha- 
nie's character.  Under  all  the  icy  sarcasm  and  jarring 
levity  of.  her  words  we  see  the  workings  of  a  woman's 
heart,  a  yearning  for  something  better  and  purer  in  her 
life,  that  shines  up  through  all  the  sins  of  the  past.  The 
sin  is  all  but  redeemed  by  the  strong  shame  that  breaks 
upon  her  as  she  thinks  of  the  absolute  wreck  of  her  life. 
You  see  it  in  the  working  of  the  face,  in  quivering  lips 
and  close-clasped  hands  ;  you  hear  it  in  the  sudden  break 
that  comes  in  the  clear,  pitiless  voice.  It  is  acting  of  the 
very  highest  order,  and  nothing  so  strong  or  so  passion- 
ate is  to  be  seen  on  any  stage  in  London. —  Vanity  Fair. 

"  Forget- Me-Not"  gives  Miss  Ward  an  opportunity  for 
acting  which  recalls  the  triumphs  of  Madame  Ristori, 
and  should  not  be  missed  by  any  genuine  play-goer,  for 
it  is  as  powerful  as  it  is  rare.  —  Victoria  Magazine. 

In  the  comedy  scenes,  that  is  to  say,  throughout  the 
first  two  acts,  Miss  Genevieve  Ward  is  perfect  "  For- 
get-Me-Not "  is  worth  seeing  for  the  sake  of  the  principal 
part,  and  the  principal  part  is  worth  seeing  for  the  artistic 
style  in  which  Miss  Genevieve  Ward  fills  it.  The  result 
of  so  perfect  a  representation  of  a  really  interesting  play 
was  seen  in  the  abundant  applause  at  the  fall  of  the 
curtain.  —  Pall  Mall. 

In  the  Marquise,  Miss  Genevieve  Ward  has  a  splendid 
opportunity,  and  she  rises  to  it ;  the  result  being  a  most 
finished  and  elaborate  portrait  of  the  scheming  adven- 
turess. Every  look,  every  word,  every  tone,  has  all  the 
significance  imparted  to  it,  which  long  artistic  training, 
combined  with  talent  of  a  high  order,  can  bestow;  and  it 


GENE VI EVE    WARD.  249 

would  be  well-nigh  an  impossibility  to  find  a  better  ex- 
ponent of  the  character  than  Miss  Ward  has  proved  her- 
self to  be.  —  Sporting  Opinion. 

In  Stephanie  de  Mohrivart,  Miss  Genevieve  Ward  has 
a  part  which  fits  her  like  a  glove,  and  in  the  stronger 
scenes  she  played  with  a  singular  power.  Her  perform- 
ance was  throughout  a  consistent  one,  and  to  a  high 
degree  artistic,  and  she  well  deserved  the  lavish  applause 
with  which  her  efforts  were  greeted.  —  The  Scotsman, 

The  consummate  art  displayed  by  Miss  Genevieve 
Ward  has  led  us  on  from  one  scene  to  another,  until  the 
catastrophe  happens  in  its  own  good  time,  to  release  us 
from  the  weird  thraldom  in  which  she  had  held  us.  It  is 
long  since  we  have  seen  such  a  frank  success  upon  the 
London  boards. — Dublin  Evening  Telegraph. 

Miss  Genevieve  Ward's  impersonation  is  one  to  be 
seen,  and  will  not  readily  be  forgotten.  —  Sporting  and 
Dramatic  News. 

To  Miss  Genevieve  Ward  the  play  belongs.  Of  her 
impersonation  of  Stephanie  we  have  already  spoken  in 
terms  of  the  warmest  eulogy.  We  have  recognized  in  this 
embodiment,  artistic  skill,  grace,  animation,  vigor,  pathos, 
and  in  certain  scenes  genuine  comedy  power.  We  have 
told  how  the  caustic,  sarcastic  utterances  of  the  beautiful 
merciless  woman  of  the  world  were  given  with  such  keen 
point,  variety,  and  expression,  that  they  fell  from  her  lips 
like  sparks  of  fire ;  we  have  said  how  grandly  was  pre- 
sented the  transition  from  sparkling  badinage  to  vehe- 
ment scorn  which  marks  the  great  scene  of  the  second 
act,  where  Miss  Genevieve  Ward's  tones  were  scorching 
in  their  fierce  invective,  where  her  attitudes  were  majestic, 
and  where  the  facial  expression  magnificently  indicated 
the  supposed  turbulent  working  of  Stephanie's  soul ;.  and 
further,  we  have  commented  upon  the  tragic  force  of  the 


250  GENE VI EVE    WARD. 

final  situation,  where  the  terrors  of  a  violent  death  are 
upon  the  guilty  woman,  where  the  horrors  of  remorse 
rack  her  conscience,  and  where,  almost  swooning  with 
fear  and  palsied  with  fright,  she  crawls  from  the  pres- 
ence of  her  foe,  who  is  waiting  to  take  her  life.  Miss 
Ward's  acting  in  this  scene,  we  have  been  bold  enough 
to  say,  might  without  exaggeration  be  compared  with  the 
grandest  efforts  of  a  Ristori  or  Rachel.  This  is  high 
praise,  but  it  is  thoroughly  well  deserved.  The  actress 
last  Saturday  seemed  to  cast  a  spell  over  her  audience. 
Pulses  beat  fast  in  that  encounter  with  Sir  Horace, 
where,  having  been  stung  by  his  bitter  words,  Stephanie 
turns  upon  him  with  vindictive  scorn  and  flashing  eyes ; 
recalls  the  dissipation  of  the  past,  and  cries  aloud,  "  There 
would  be  no  place  in  creation-  for  such  women  as  I,  if  it 
were  not  for  such  men  as  you ; "  while  the  effect  upon 
her  spectators  in  the  last  act  was  manifest  by  the  breath- 
less silence  which  reigned,  a  silence  which  denoted  awe 
as  well  as  interest,  and  which  gave  unmistakable  proof  of 
the  actress's  power.  Cheers  and  floral  compliments  were 
not  wanting,  but  this  marvellous  silence  was  the  best 
compliment  that  could  be  paid  to  the  artiste.  —  Era. 

Meanwhile,  as  the  principal  combatant,  for  such  she  is 
in  a  play  made  up  of  combat,  Miss  Genevieve  Ward  is 
superb.  We  can  recall  few  performances  on  the  modern 
stage  that  are  finer,  more  artistic,  more  careful,  more  con- 
scientious, more  thoughtful,  more  sustained ;  whether  in 
the  insolence  of  triumph  or  the  despair  of  defeat,  the 
performance  is  alike  powerful.  Her  appearance,  as  she 
enters  the  house  she  has  determined  to  make  her  own, 
is  perfect,  and  during  her  stay  on  the  stage  she  fills  it. 
Even  in  her  concluding  cowardice  and  abjectness  she  still 
triumphs,  and  she  departs  bearing  our  enforced  homage. 
The  acting  is  quite  enough  to  make  a  reputation.  —  Sun- 
day Times. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  251 

What  shall  I  say  of  Miss  Ward  ?  Such  acting  as  hers, 
as  the  Marquise,  must  either  be  analyzed  for  pages  by 
Balzac,  such  is  its  astonishing  fidelity  to  nature,  its  mar- 
vellous subtlety  and  attention  to  the  minutest  details,  — 
or  dismissed  with  one  word  —  perfect.  I  prefer  the  last 
alternative.  I  repeat  the  word,  perfect,  most  perfect.  It 
is  superfluous  to  compliment  so  very  great  an  artist. 
Strange!  Miss  Ward  looks,  as  Stephanie,  the  exact 
image  of  the  Empress  Euge'nie  as  she  was  before  her 
misfortunes.  —  Town  and  Country. 

Miss  Ward  has  no  equal  in  her  profession  as  an  expo- 
nent of  the  strongly  defined,  passionate  heroines  of  the 
stage.  —  Sketch. 

Miss  Genevieve  Ward  is  an  actress  of  very  remark- 
able power.  She  has  a  fine  figure  and  voice,  a  quiet 
power  in  every  line  of  her  face  and  in  every  gesture ;  and 
that  itself  is  one  of  the  highest  requisites  of  an  actress, 
for  it  makes  every  thing  she  does  interesting.  Again, 
she  is  perfectly  simple  and  refined  in  her  manner,  and  her 
playfulness  has  an  air  of  distinction :  it  is  that  of  a 
woman  in  whom  playfulness  is  the  unbending  of  strength, 
not  the  dissipation  of  all  the  little  energy  of  character 
there  is.  And  what  is  more,  perhaps,  than  any  of  these 
characteristics,  Miss  Ward  is  not  absorbed  in  her  own 
part.  She  is  anxious  to  give  full  effect  to  the  parts  of 
the  other  actors  as  she  is  to  her  own.  Her  power  was  so 
singular  and  so  remarkable,  and  it  was  the  power  of 
so  much  mental  culture,  that  we  may  fairly  congratulate 
the  English  stage  on  the  presence  of  a  new  actress  of  the 
first  class  amongst  us.  —  Spectator. 

Miss  Genevieve  Ward,  as  Stephanie,  shows  herself  to 
be  a  true  artiste.  The  strong  dramatic  power  which  she 
exhibits  is  no  less  admirable  than  the  ironical  tone  of 
comedy,  which  is  the  main  characteristic  of  the  part.  In 


232  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

the  last  scene,  Miss  Ward's  performance  is  of  the  highest 
order.  If  the  gradual  escape  from  the  room  were  done 
with  the  least  want  of  force  or  artistic  feeling,  it  might 
go  hard  with  the  play.  In  Miss  Ward's  hands  the  situa- 
tion becomes  thrilling.  —  Saturday  Review. 

[EXHIBIT  K.] 
"NEW-YORK  HERALD,"  DEC.  28,  1879. 

To  Managers  and  the  Theatrical  Profession  generally. 

Miss  Genevieve  Ward  hereby  gives  notice  that  she  is 
the  owner,  and  has  the  sole  right  to  produce  the  play  of 
"  Forget-Me-Not "  in  the  United  States  and  elsewhere ; 
that  she  has  duly  copyrighted  same,  and  will  prosecute 
all  infringers  by  injunction  and  otherwise. 

JOHN  H.  BIRD, 

Attorney  in  fact, 
137  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK. 

[EXHIBIT  L.] 
To 

Notice  is  hereby  given,  that  the  undersigned  did,  on 
the  twenty-first  day  of  August,  1879,  at  the  city  of  Lon- 
don, England,  purchase  from  Herman  Charles  Merivale 
and  Florence  Crawford  Grove,  the  authors  of  the  play 
called  "  Forget-Me-Not,"  the  exclusive  right  to  produce 
the  same  in  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain,  in  this  country, 
and  elsewhere,  for  a  period  of  years ;  and  that  the  same 
was  duly  copyrighted  at  Washington  on  the  thirtieth  day 
of  September,  1879. 

This  notice  is  given  because  of  information,  just  re- 
ceived by  me,  that  Miss  Jeffreys  Lewis,  and  others,  are 
endeavoring  to  secure  engagements  to  produce  this  play 
in  the  principal  theatres  of  the  United  States. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD.  253 

I  trust  that  my  rights  of  ownership  will  be  readily 
respected  by  all  managers  and  members  of  the  theatrical 
profession  generally. 

If,  however,  notwithstanding  this  notice,  you  should 
proceed,  and  attempt  to  produce  the  play,  in  defiance  of 
my  exclusive  rights  in  the  premises,  then  I  will  resort  to 
the  courts,  and  protect  those  rights  by  injunction,  and  all 
other  protective  and  compensatory  measures  known  to 
the  law. 

GENEVIEVE  WARD, 
BY  JOHN  H.  BIRD,  Attorney, 
137  BROADWAY,  ROOM  5,  NEW  YORK. 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  a,  1880. 

N.B. —  I  am  about  concluding  a  contract  with  Col. 
William  E.  Sinn,  sole  lessee  and  manager  of  the  Brook- 
lyn Park  Theatre,  for  the  production  in  the  United  States 
and  Canada  of  the  above  play  of  "  Forget-Me-Not,"  for 
the  season  of  1 880-81.  For  terms  and  dates,  please 
address  him  at  Brooklyn  Park  Theatre,  Brooklyn,  Kings 
County,  New  York. 

[EXHIBIT  M.] 
"FORGET-ME-NOT." 

THE  NEW  PLAY,  BY  HERMAN  CHARLES  MERIVALE  AND  FLORENCE 
CRAWFORD  GROVE. 

To  Managers,  Owners,  and  Proprietors  of  Theatres  throughout 
the  United  States. 

The  undersigned  gives  notice  that  he  is  the  sole  and 
exclusive  owner  for  the  United  States  of  this  play,  with 
the  sole  and  exclusive  right  of  representing  the  same,  by 
purchase  and  assignment  from  the  authors  and  proprie- 


254  GENEVIEVE    WARD. 

tors,  and  that  he  will  prosecute  all  parties  infringing  on 
his  right  of  property  in  the  said  play. 

THEODORE   MOSS. 
Dated  NEW  YORK,  April  9, 1880. 

[EXHIBIT  N.] 

CABLE  MESSAGE. 

NEW  YORK,  May  3, 1880. 
BIRD,  137  Broad-way,  New  York. 

Can  do   nothing  here   now.     Find  out  what  royalty 

Moss  would  take. 

WARD. 
17,  PARIS. 

[EXHIBIT  O.] 

JUNE  16,  1880. 
MR.  THEODORE  Moss. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Miss  Ward  writes  me  from  London,  re- 
questing that  I  procure  from  you  a  copy  of  the  agree- 
ment between  the  authors  of  "  Forget-Me-Not "  and 
yourself.  Will  you  kindly  comply  with  her  request,  or 
advise  me  at  what  time  and  place  I  can  send,  and  have  a 
copy  made  ?  I  sincerely  trust  you  may  feel  at  liberty  to 
grant  this  courtesy. 

Very  truly, 

JOHN  H.  BIRD. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD. 


255 


INDEX  OF   NAMES 

OF  FAMILIES  THAT  HAVE  INTERMARRIED  WITH  THE 
WARD  FAMILY  AND  ITS  DESCENDANTS  OF  VARIOUS 
NAMES,  AS  GIVEN  IN  "  THE  WARD  FAMILY,"  PUBLISHED 
BY  SAMUEL  G.  DRAKE,  BOSTON,  1851. 


Abbe. 

Abbey. 

Abbott 

Ackley. 

Adams. 

Ainsworth. 

Albee. 

Alden. 

Aldrich. 

Alexander. 

Alfrey. 

Allen. 

Ames. 

Amsden. 

Andrews. 

Angier. 

Appleton. 

Aravello. 

Arnold. 

Ashley. 

Atherton. 

Atwater. 

Atwood. 

Austin. 

Avery. 

Ayling. 

Ayres. 


Babcock. 

Bacheller. 

Bacon. 

Bagley. 

Bailey. 

Baird. 

Baker. 

Baldwin. 

Ball. 

Ballard. 

Bancroft. 

Bannister. 

Barber. 

Barnard. 

Barnes. 

Barnum. 

Barrell. 

Barrett. 

Bartlett. 

Barton. 

Bascom. 

Basset. 

Bates. 

Bathrick. 

Battle. 

Bayley. 

Beade. 


Beaman. 

Bean. 

Bedford 

Bellows. 

Beniis. 

Bennet. 

Bently. 

Bickford. 

Bidwell. 

Bigelow. 

Bird. 

Bisbee. 

Bishop. 

Bixby. 

Black. 

Blackman. 

Blake. 

Blanchard. 

Blodget. 

Blood. 

Bond. 

Booth. 

Bouker. 

Bowman. 

Boyenton. 

Bracket. 

Bradish. 

Bray. 

Breck. 


256 


GENEVIEVE    WARD. 


Brewer. 

Brewster. 

Bridges. 

Briggs. 

Bri^ham. 

Brookins. 

Bromly. 

Brown. 

Broughton. 

Brownell. 

Bryant. 

Bucknam. 

Bufnngton. 

Bullard. 

Burchard. 

Burgess. 

Burnham. 

Burnap. 

Burnet 

Burns. 

Barrage. 

Burroughs. 

Burt. 

Bushnell. 

Busnam. 

Butler. 

C. 

Cabot 

Caldwell. 

Cady. 

Call. 

Callender. 

Cameron. 

Canfield. 

Carpenter. 

C  apron. 

Carey. 

Carlton. 

Carrington. 

Carruth. 

Carter. 

Castle. 

Caswell. 

Chad  wick. 

Chambers. 


Chamberlain. 

Croxford. 

Chandler. 

Cudderbuck. 

Chapin. 

Cummins. 

Chapman. 

Curtis. 

Chase. 

Cutler. 

Cheesbrough. 

Cutting. 

Cheney. 

Cutts. 

Chesmore. 

Cuzzens. 

Child. 

Childs. 

Church. 

D. 

Churchill. 

Dakin. 

Cilley. 
Claflin. 

Dalrymple, 
Dame. 

Clapp. 

Danforth. 

Clark. 

Daniels. 

Clary. 
Cleaveland. 

Darling. 
Davenport 

Clough. 

Davids. 

Coates. 

Davis. 

Cobb. 

Davison. 

Coe. 

Dawes. 

Coggin. 

Day. 

Cole. 

Dean. 

Colman. 

Dehanne. 

Columbia. 

Delano. 

Comins. 

Demond. 

Conant 

Dennehe. 

Converse. 

Dennis^ 

Cook. 

Dennison. 

Cooley. 

Denny. 

Coolidge. 

Denzelo. 

Cooper. 

Derby. 

Corbett 

Dewey. 

Cornell. 

Dexter. 

Cornish. 

Dibbell. 

Corthell. 

Dickinson. 

Cotton. 

Dike. 

Covil. 

Dix. 

Cowdin. 

Doan. 

Cowles, 

Dodge. 

Cox. 

Dole. 

Craft 

Doolittle. 

Cranston. 

Dow. 

Crosby. 

Drake. 

Grossman. 

Draper. 

Crouch. 

Drew. 

GENEVIEVE    WARD. 


257 


Drury. 

Dryden, 

Dudley. 

Duger. 

Dunklee. 

Dunton. 

Durgen. 

Dyer. 


Eager. 

Eames. 

Earle. 

Eastman. 

Easton. 

Eaton. 

Eddy. 

Edmands. 

Edson. 

Elder. 

Elkins. 

Elliot. 

Ellis. 

Elmes. 

Emerson. 

Emery. 

Enos. 

Este. 


F. 

Fairbank. 

Farley. 

Farnsworth. 

Farwell. 

Fay. 

Fennell. 

Ferrin. 

Ferry. 

Fessenden. 

Field. 

Fife. 

Finney. 

Fitch. 

Fisher. 

Fisk. 


Fiske. 

Fitts. 

Flagg. 

Flint. 

Fload. 

Flowers. 

Fosket. 

Fowler. 

Freeman. 

French. 

Fuller. 


G. 

Galbraith. 

Gardner. 

Garfield. 

Gates. 

Gay. 

Gaylord. 

Gerald. 

Gilbert, 

Gill. 

Gilmore. 

Gillet. 

Gillis. 

Glazier. 

Gleason. 

Goddard. 

Godfrey. 

Goodale. 

Gorham. 

Goss. 

Gould. 

Goulding. 

Gove. 

Graham. 

Granger. 

Grant 

Green. 

Greenwood. 

Grosvenor. 

Grover. 

Guliker. 

Gunn. 

Gurney. 


H. 

Hall. 

Hamilton. 

Hammond. 

Hanks. 

Hannum. 

Hapgood. 

Harback. 

Hardy. 

Harman. 

Harris. 

Harrington. 

Harroon. 

Harper. 

Hart. 

Hartwell. 

Harvey. 

Harwood. 

Haskell. 

Hastings. 

Hawes. 

Hayden. 

Haynes. 

Hays. 

Hay  ward. 

Hazeltine. 

Head. 

Heald. 

Heath. 

Hedge. 

Hemphill. 

Henry. 

Henshaw. 

Herbert. 

Herrick. 

Heywood. 

Higbee. 

Higgins. 

Hill. 

Hilton. 

Hinman. 

Hitchcock. 

Hobbs. 

Hobart. 

Hodge. 

Hoit 


258 


GENEVIEVE    WARD. 


Holbrook. 

K. 

Holcomb. 
Holden. 
Holland. 
Hollis. 
Holmes. 
Holt 
Hook. 
Houghton. 
Hovey. 
Howe. 
Howard. 
HowelL 
Hoyt. 
Hudson. 
Hull. 

Kassan. 
Kasson. 
Keet 
Keith. 
Kelton. 
Kendall. 
Kendrick. 
Kennedy. 
Kenney. 
Kenrick. 
Kerley. 
Ketchum. 
Keyes. 
Kibbe. 

Humphrey. 
Hunt. 
Hunter. 
Hunting. 
Huntington. 
Hyde. 
Hubbard. 

Kidder. 
Kimberly. 
King. 
Kingman. 
Kingsbury. 
Kiiine. 
Knapp. 
Knight 

Knowlton. 

I. 

Ingalls. 

Ingersoll. 

. 

Ingraham. 

Ladd. 

Ingram. 

Laffin. 

Ireland 

Lake. 

Lamb. 

Lamson. 

• 

Langdon. 

Jackson. 

Lathe. 

Tames. 

Lawrence. 

Jameson. 

Lazell. 

Janes. 

Leach. 

enkins. 

Lee. 

ennison. 

Leet 

ewett. 

Leffingwell. 

ohnson. 

Leonard. 

ones. 

Lewis. 

anord. 

Libbey. 

oy. 

Livermore. 

Livingston. 

Locke. 

Loomis. 

Lord. 

Lothrop. 

Lounsbury. 

Love. 

Levering. 

Lowe. 

Lowell. 

Lyon. 

Lyscom. 

Lull. 


M. 

Mace. 

Mack. 

McLennan. 

McElroy. 

McFall. 

McFarland. 

Mclntyre. 

Macumber. 

Mallory. 

Manning. 

Marble. 

Marsh. 

Martin. 

Martyn. 

Mason. 

Mather. 

Mattocks. 

Maynard. 

Mayo. 

Meilen. 

Melvin. 

Merrick. 

Merritt 

Messer. 

Millard. 

Miller. 

Mills. 

Minchent 

Mi  rick. 

Mitchell. 

Mix 

Mixer. 

Mixter. 


CENEVIEVE    WARD. 


259 


Monefeldt. 

P. 

Montague. 
Montandon. 
Montgomery. 
Moore. 
Moores. 
Morey. 
Morgan. 
Morrill. 
Morris. 
Morse. 
Morton. 
Mossman. 
Mower. 
Munsell. 
Munson. 
Murdock. 
Muzzy. 
Myers. 

Packard. 
Page. 
Paine. 
Palmer. 
Park. 
Parker. 
Parks. 
Parmenter. 
Parsons. 
Patten. 
Peabody. 
Peache. 
Peake. 
Pease. 
Peckham. 
Peirce. 
Pelton. 
Pendleton. 

N' 

Pepper. 

• 

Perkins. 

Nelson. 

Perry. 

Newell. 
NewhalL 

Phelps. 
Phillips. 

Newton. 

Pigeon. 

Nichols. 

Pike. 

Nicholson. 

Pinney. 

Norcross. 

Piper. 

Northup. 

Pitkin. 

Norton. 

Pond. 

Notewaire. 

Pool. 

Nourse. 

Porter. 

Noyes. 

Post. 

Nurse. 

Potter. 

Nutting. 

Powell. 

Nye. 

Powers. 

Pratt. 

O. 

Presby.      • 

Prescott 

Oaks. 

Priest. 

Oliver. 

Proctor. 

Orcutt. 
Osborne. 
Osgood. 
Overbaugh. 

Prouty. 
Purdy. 
Putnam. 

Oviatt 

Owen. 

R. 

Ralston. 

Ramsdell. 

Randall. 

Ransom. 

Rawson. 

Raymond. 

Raynsford. 

Read. 

Reed. 

Reese. 

Remick. 

Retts. 

Rhodes. 

Rice. 

Rich. 

Richards. 

Richardson. 

Richmond. 

Rider. 

Rising. 

Robinson. 

Rockwood. 

Rogers. 

Rood. 

Root. 

Ross. 

Rowley. 

Roy. 

Ruggles. 

Russell. 

Rust 

Rutt. 

Ryan. 


Sacket 

Saddler. 

Safford. 

Salisbury. 

Samuels. 

Sanders. 

Sanderson. 

Sandin. 

Sargeant. 

Sarvey. 


260 


GENEYIEVE    WARD. 


Sawtell. 

Stickney. 

Sawyer. 

Stimpson. 

Scott. 

Stocking. 

Scribner. 

Stockwell. 

Seagraves. 

Stoddard. 

Seely. 

Stone. 

Selfridge. 

Storrs. 

Sewall. 

Storer. 

Sexton. 

Stow. 

Seymour. 

Stratton. 

Shattuck. 

Streeter. 

Shaw. 

Strong. 

Shed. 

Symonds. 

Sheffield. 

Sheldon. 

Shepard. 

« 

Sherman. 

Taft. 

Sherwin. 

Taintor. 

Sherwood. 

Talbot 

S  hum  way. 

Tappan. 

Shurtliff. 

Tatman. 

Shute. 

Taylor. 

Sibley. 

Temple. 

Simonds. 

Tenant. 

Sinclair. 

Tenny. 

Skinner. 

Thayer. 

Slater. 

Thomas. 

Smith. 

Thompson. 

Snelling. 

Thornton. 

Snow. 

Thurlo. 

Soule. 

Thurston. 

Southworth. 

Tileston. 

Spaulding. 

Tinkham. 

Spencer. 

Tobey. 

Spinney. 

Tomlin. 

Spokesfield. 

Toombs. 

Spring. 

Torrey. 

Spurr. 

Town. 

Squiers. 

Townsend. 

Stacy. 

Tracy. 

Stafford. 

Trask. 

Staples. 

Trowbridge. 

Stearns. 

Trusdale. 

Stebbins. 

Tucker. 

Stedman. 

Tufts. 

Steele. 

Turner. 

Stevens. 

Tuttle. 

TwitchelL 
Tyler. 

U. 

Underwood. 

Upham. 

V. 

Van  Horn. 

Vickery. 

Viles. 


W. 

Wadleigh. 

Wadsworth. 

Wait. 

Walbridge. 

Wales. 

Walker. 

Walter. 

Warden. 

Warner. 

Warren. 

Warrick. 

Washburn. 

Waters. 

Watkins, 

Watson. 

Webb. 

Webster. 

Weeks. 

Wellington. 

Wells. 

Whalan. 

Wheeler. 

Wheelock. 

Whipple. 

Whitaker. 

White. 

Whittelsey. 

Whittemore. 

Whiton. 

Whitney. 

Wiggins. 


GENEVIEVE    WARD. 


26l 


Wilder. 
Wiley. 
Wilkinson. 
Willard. 
Williams. 
Williamson. 
Wilmot. 
Wilson. 

Winchester. 
Winslow. 
Wiswall. 
Witherby. 
Witherell. 
Witt. 
Wood. 
Woodbury. 

Woodcock. 
Woodward. 
Wyman. 
Wythe. 

Y. 

Yearo. 

LONDON  BOOK  < 
224  W.  Broadwai 
Glendale,  Calif.  9 

ri  4-0828 


